ABSTRACT. Introduction: The relationship between theory and qualitative research has been much debated. It is certainly a complex relationship, plagued by lack of consensus among scholars regarding how theory and methodology are related. Despite the pervasive lack of clarity, there is a long tradition within qualitative research of theory being central and of critical importance. Indeed, some qualitative researchers have argued that lack of theory in qualitative research undermines its quality. Goals and Methods: In 2020, we undertook a project to adapt an existing typology of theory use, guided by the ADAPT-ITT framework. The aim was to provide a framework through which the relationship between theory and qualitative research can be understood. ADAPT-ITT was developed originally to inform the adaptation of evidence-based interventions to new geographic regions, cultural contexts or populations related to HIV. We interviewed 14 qualitative researchers to elicit their views on the relationship between theory and qualitative research. The interviews were analysed inductively. Results: The ADAPT-ITT framework provides a systematic, stepwise process that allows existing interventions to be adapted, rather than creating new interventions unnecessarily. As explored in this presentation, we used ADAPT-ITT to guide the adaptation of a typology, the outcome of which is a revised typology. We will present the typology as a reflexive aide for the conduct and reporting of qualitative research. Because theory can be an abstract concept, we bring the presentation to ‘life’ through using examples of theory use in our own qualitative research. Conclusions: The presentation will appeal to qualitative researchers who are grappling with the complexity of theory in their research.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Studies report higher incidents of suicidal behaviors among sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). The higher prevalence of suicidal behaviors in this subpopulation makes it a significant matter to study. Qualitative sociological research on suicide attempts is scarce. Yet, it allows investigating the operating social dynamics that let some SGMs perceive their lives as not worth living over time. Goals and Methods: Building on Durkheim's theses from Le Suicide (1897), a social network perspective is applied to investigate suicide attempts among SGMs and how social relations matter to suicidality. Critical suicidology characterizes the approach and calls for a critical stance regarding methodology and theory. Qualitative ego-centric network analysis and biographical methods are combined as a reconstructive personal network analysis, and data are collected via individual interviews during two meetings (approx. 20 participants). A comparison between the social surroundings of SGMs with and without suicide attempts is pursued. Results (expected): Through the methodological approach combining two distinct qualitative methods, the analysis of the biographical experience is expanded by the question of embeddedness in social relations, whereby personal networks are understood as dynamic social relations that evolve through time. These two perspectives related to each other create a critical methodological approach that enables identifying and investigating the dynamics and mechanisms within and between different relationships of the social surrounding and how these link back to (suicidal) agency for SGMs. Conclusions: How social surroundings matter to individuals at risk of suicide must be of interest to research on suicidality. The presented methodological approach highlights how suicide attempts can be investigated as a relational social issue. Suicide prevention strategies can benefit from the findings of this study.

ABSTRACT. Introduction – Sexual violence (SV) is a global problem affecting one in four adult women and one in twenty adult men (Rape Crisis, 2022) . One large UK study has qualitatively explored the issue of accessibility and provision of specialist SV services from multiple perspectives: commissioners, practitioners and victim-survivors. Five co-researchers with lived experience of SV have been employed and integrated as part of the wider research team to inform and carry out the research.

Goals and methods – The co-researchers have influenced aspects of the qualitative research paradigm and design and offered consultation on the data collection approach and methods for analysis, to ensure a sensitive and inclusive approach. Co-researchers have been involved in co-conducting, analysing and synthesising the narrative interviews with victim-survivors. As the study nears completion, they are also leading on some dissemination activities (including submitting the abstract and presenting at this conference).

Results – The objective of this study (completion Dec 2022) is to develop a comprehensive national profile of specialist SV services for survivors in England, giving voice to survivors’ experiences and views, in order to make policy and practice recommendations to strengthen the service response to survivors. Data generated from commissioner, practitioners and victim-survivor interviews indicates a variety in the quality of SV provision. There is huge disparity in the services offered and a range of victim-survivors’ journeys, from damaging to healing. It is clear that funding and waiting lists impact the availability of services. Importantly, co-researchers bring their own experience of SV support to this research.

Conclusions – The co-researcher element of the project is unique. It has created a robust approach to the research and unexpectedly, the benefits have been co-directional. As an output for this presentation, we aim to address the pitfalls and successes of using lived experience in this way in qualitative research. We will take the opportunity to disseminate our learning from this UK study to the attendees at this international conference.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Little research has explored the ways in which masculinity receives preferential treatment over femininity, independent of the man/woman binary. This exploration is needed to understand why femininity is devalued within the heteropatriarchal masculine social context under which much of current western society has been formed. Additionally, framing masculinity and femininity outside of gender helps decouple the notion that masculinity/femininity is inherently tied to men/women. In this duoethnography, two researchers unpack the complexity of gender, gender expression, and gendered language in education research while simultaneously grappling with the need to incorporate a lens that troubles anti-femininity specifically rather than masculinity broadly.

Goals and Methods: In duoethnographic projects, researchers use themselves as sites of inquiry to deeply examine collective experiences of a shared phenomenon. In our work, we have both studied overtly masculine spaces (i.e. STEM) in which anti-femininity arises more frequently due to the social conditioning of men. To explore this more deeply, we recorded and analyzed three reflexive discussions about our research processes and products. We wrestled with numerous methodological challenges, our positionalities, and complex topics—all in the context of anti-femininity.

Results: We expect our results to fall into several areas including: 1) how anti-femininity has/has not personally impacted our identities as scholars, 2) the areas of anti-femininity research we find most troubling/rewarding/exhausting, and 3) how we as critical scholars can use anti-femininity in our own research to trouble binary assumptions around gender.

Conclusions: Duoethnography calls for the reader to become part of the research process. In this paper, we invite readers to join us in the conversation about the messiness of engaging in critical research around gender, gendered language, and anti-femininity. Additionally, we offer our own insights and experiences as examples of how to navigate these complexities when conducting research.

ABSTRACT. Facilities programming requires extensive applied research on building users. Each building and user community represents a unique case. In such situations, qualitative research methods are most adequate and bring rich information for design decision-making. Because ethnography pairs well with both research design and data collection in the programming area, we explore the adaptation of focused ethnography to facilities programming research projects.

This presentation’s goals are to bring attention to focused ethnography for facilities programming and to initiate an epistemological and methodological project for further development of this approach. We begin by creating a framework for researching the requirements and constraints of facilities programming practices. Next, we analyze the epistemological requirements of traditional ethnography and explore the limits of epistemological compromises that are acceptable for providing trustworthy programming information.

This epistemological/methodological study suggests that programming projects are typically conducted with very tight time and budgetary constraints and without the possibility of prolonged engagement in the field. In order for researchers to produce trustworthy information regarding building users, they must often narrow their field of study. Focused ethnography was found to be able to comply with both the epistemological requirements of ethnographic research and the constraints of programming projects. Lengthy fieldwork is replaced by a short visit or, at best, several short visits. The observer is recognizable and cannot go undercover. Recording technology is used openly and creates considerable changes in the researched situation. The role of the interview method becomes more important than the observation. Future research on facilities programming should benefit from these epistemological/methodological guidelines.

Focused ethnography can bridge the gap between the time-consuming and expensive requirements of traditional ethnography and the tight time frame and budgetary challenges of commercial projects like facilities programming. The epistemology of focused ethnography must be further developed to address limitations imposed by facilities programming situations.

ABSTRACT. Introduction – Participatory approaches have become popular in qualitative social and health research. A growing trend is co-research where academic researchers engage (or employ) members of the public with direct, lived experience of an issue, as co-researchers. However, there are a number of ethical, methodological and practical issues associated with this participatory approach that may be over-looked in researchers’ haste to adopt this exciting methodology into a research design. Goals and methods – In this presentation, we critique the multiple issues associated with co-research and specifically, we explore the particular challenges in undertaking qualitative research into what might be considered a ‘sensitive issue’. Using collective autoethnographic approaches it examines managing and researching within a highly participatory co-research project on sexual violence, enabling reflection on the many issues that need to be considered. Results – Findings reflect on six challenges conceptualised previously in relation to co-research (with children), to assess their relevance to working with adult co-researchers: (1) Co-researchers may lack research competence; (2) A comprehensive training programme is required; (3) Insider/outsider perspectives are difficult to balance; (4) Remuneration is complex; (5) Power differentials need to be overcome; and (6) Co-researchers need to be protected. We examine each of these six challenges and propose a new framework whereby their relevance can be utilised in multiple setting, particularly sensitive issues research. Conclusions – The research creates a new framework for undertaking and managing a co-research project, in participatory qualitative research.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Learning to read and write in English as a foreign/second language tends to be challenging for both teachers and learners. It may be conditioned by different factors such as: i) the context in which teaching and learning take place; ii) learners' age; iii) the way, and the time of exposure to the new language; iv) learners’ linguistic background and ability to read and write in their first language; and v) their interest and motivation to learn foreign languages. There is a great deal of research on the teaching and learning of reading and writing in English as a foreign/second language in secondary and university contexts. However, there seems to be a lack of studies in primary education (from 6 to 12 years old). Goal: To identify teaching practices and pupils' strategies in teaching and learning the two skills in the context of English as a foreign/second language; and to analyse how both skills are developed with young learners and what strategies they apply. Method: Systematic literature review was carried out according to an eight-steps protocol. Data sources were searched using EBSCO, Education Resources Information Center, Web of Science and Scopus. Extracted data were analysed and synthesised qualitatively. Results: 14 studies, mainly with a quasi-experimental design were included. The practices described were several and intended to understand their effect on the development of both skills. As for the strategies seem to be very focused on self-regulation of learning, involving pupils’ active participation and a set of dimensions, as metacognitive, cognitive and socio-affective. Conclusions: This review provides an overview of what has been researched in this field over the last eight years, identifying and describing the practices and strategies developed, and providing suggestions for the development of future research into the teaching and learning of both skills.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The Vancouver-School of Doing Phenomenology (in short: The Vancouver-School) is a qualitative methodology first decribed in 2000. It has since been used much for studying phenomena with vulnerable and/or marginalized people such as violence survivors (e.g. CSA, IPV), men suffering suicidal thoughts, and marginalized women in prisons. The methodology is specifically intended to improve services for people by increasing knowledge and understanding of certain phenomena. Goals and Methods: To analyze the suitability of the Vancouver-School in researching experiences of vulnerable and/or marginalized groups. Results: There is a strong ethical focus in the Vancouver-School. The researcher is to approach participants as experts in their own experience and with caring kindness and respect. Furthermore, there is a strong emphasis on the importance of moral sensitivity and researchers as moral agents and how they need to use their own cultural background in creative reflection on own experience and preconceived ideas. Moreover, researchers must be able to reconcile personal feelings in the research context, must be aware of own role and responsibility in a value laden situation and be able to sense the moral significance of a situation, capable of distinguishing between feelings, facts and values, and reflect on these with cognitive capacity to determine what is good for the participant. An expert researcher in such a research context has to have a strong moral character and be a morally accountable researcher, skilled in ethical decision making, able to recognize ethical issues or problems, always remembering the importance of empowering participants through the research process and not to disempower them. Conclusions: We conclude that because of the ethical focus in the methodology of the Vancouver-School it is a valid choice in research with vulnerable and marginalized groups where the aim is understanding and describing vulnerable participants’ experience of certain phenomena such as violence.

ABSTRACT. Introduction

As the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, digital engagement is crucial for fostering social inclusion for older adults, with the capacity to navigate risks and take up information and communication technologies (ICT) critical to their well-being. However, perceived risks are one of the main reasons many older adults do not engage with ICT and the digital economy. A lack of understanding and ability to navigate risk can limit their online interactivity.

Goals and Methods

The aim of this research is to explore and quantify the types of perceived risks associated with ICT and the influence on ICT use and engagement in the digital economy and to co-design strategies with end users and stakeholders to reduce perceived risk and improve digital engagement The mixed-method project has developed over four stages. The initial ‘exploring and understanding phases’ focused on examining risk perceptions amongst older people, analyzing findings from a survey, and investigating lived experiences through exploratory interviews. The following two phases – co-design and dissemination during 2022 – saw the research team collaborate through workshops with several local groups to create strategies and tools that help inform the practices of older adults and reduce their perceptions of ICT risk.

Results

Our findings explain the perceived risks that affect older adults the most and outline co-designed strategies that respond to their lived experiences of ICT – connecting practices with perceptions.

Conclusions

In co-creating strategies with older adults to address their perceived risk with ICT, we draw conclusions on how this approach can be effective in responding to issues in older adults’ terms, personalizing their strategies, and providing autonomy for their learning experiences and involvement in the digital economy.

ABSTRACT. Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic generated an inconceivable impact on individuals around the world. The Canadian government implemented federal and provincial policies and restrictions attempting to reduce viral transmission. However, persons with disabilities (PwDs), comprising over 20% of the Canadian population, may have had unique experiences navigating these times based on past and ongoing interactions with health and social systems.

Goals and Methods:

This cross-sectional study combined story completion and social media data collection to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the perceptions, experiences, and daily lives of Canadians with disabilities. Narratives were collected from stories submitted via online survey platform Lime Survey and were triangulated with social media posts from Facebook. Both sets of data underwent descriptive thematic analysis using Quirkos software to consider patterns, trends, and outliers. To assist in accurate and trustworthy data collection, detailed inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied, and thematic analysis was undertaken by multiple researchers to engage broad perspectives and support confirmability.

Results:

Analysis of 19 submitted stories and 62 Facebook posts constructed four themes regarding the experiences of PwD during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: (1) Pandemic pathos and positivity detailing the spectrum of emotions experienced by participants; (2) Being “castaway on a deserted island”, illustrating physical experiences such as isolation, work challenges, and financial struggles; (3) Disability disparities, including unintended consequences for access and accessibility; (4) and Inoculating the disability identity, describing how group identity/membership was strengthened by the shared social experiences.

Conclusion:

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized many pre-existing inequalities faced by PwD and offers an opportunity to address barriers in policies and systems to promote inclusion. The results from this study, which employed a dual data collection technique combining prompted stories and spontaneous testimonies, can be used to inform the development of policies and services in future public health events.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Historically, program evaluation in behavioral health has employed quantitative approaches that include experimental and exploratory designs. However, qualitative methods can add value to program evaluation both by supplementing quantitative approaches and by using qualitative designs when quantitative approaches are not methodologically appropriate. Specifically, using a qualitative case study design, we were able to achieve quicker research-to-practice pathways for quality improvement, engage stakeholders in the evaluation process as co-creators of knowledge/research, and embed an evaluation approach with evaluators partnering with participants at various stages of the program evaluation process (i.e., implementation, baseline, problem-based). Goals and Methods: An instrumental qualitative case study design provided the primary evaluation method as the phenomenon being evaluated became the case. This design presented a rich understanding of program implementation, baseline assessment, and solution-focused approaches to address problems in service delivery. Techniques used in this design included individual semi-structured, open-ended interviews, a focus group for member checking and long-term engagement with the data, and thematic analysis. Instruments for data collection and analysis included interview guide development and transcription. Coding organized the data gathered from the participant interviews, and categories and subcategories were identified through a flexible, collaborative, and creative process which allowed for identification of discrepant data and potential themes. Results: Results informed programming at practice and administrative levels. A university/community partnership in the Mid-Atlantic United States developed and implemented this qualitative program evaluation model as part of project evaluations for three distinct federal grants (i.e., rural health outreach, adult drug court, and family treatment court). Results of this program evaluation model included the development of rich and meaningful themes to guide programming/quality assurance, offering transferable recommendations to other entities. Conclusion: Qualitative case study program evaluation offers opportunities for evaluator and stakeholder collaboration and a quicker quality improvement loop in the tradition of participatory evaluation methods. 

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The tools, like the Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS), this impact research work, particular in certain areas, like Qualitative Research in Social Sciences. These tools allow users to either obtain analysis services or even go deeper into the methodologies themselves, making sense of the features shown and their outcomes. Technological tools to support the analysis of qualitative data are increasing exponentially. Additionally, these tools allow us to organise and edit sources, improve coding (inductive and deductive) and explore data triangulation in a previously impossible way. CAQDAS can be defined as computer tools that help researchers develop and improve the quality of qualitative studies. Goals and Methods: The study will be conducted by a Living Systematic Review (Tailored PRISMA 2020 protocol). The literature search was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science databases. We use the keywords “QDAS” OR “CAQDAS” and the most relevant CAQDAS (“ATLAS.ti” OR “Dedoose” OR “MAXQDA” OR “NVivo” OR “QDA Miner” OR “webQDA”). We limited the search to the 2022 year, only papers published in the Social Sciences area and articles that use “Qualitative Research” keywords. With this, we analyse the methodological design of papers to understand the influence of a CAQDAS in the procedures and processes of qualitative studies. Results: The results indicate that improving the methodological design of the articles analysed is necessary, giving greater focus to the procedures followed. The Living Systematic Review and Content Analysis technique permit monitoring of the features of CAQDAS in a double sense: to seek to provide features to satisfy users' needs but also to look for what a CAQDAS (developers) expect from a user.

This work was financially supported by the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

ABSTRACT. In Portugal, in the year 2018 began an action-research project with the aim of finding solutions so that children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) could learn music in Arts Education Programmes. We carried out the characterization of the child with CP, which gave rise to the study and several literature reviews on this theme. We came across some Accessible Musical Digital Instruments that can be employed by users with different needs. The child in our study attends the Art School near his residence using two of them: Netytar and NetyChord. Through an Intervention Project, lasting six months, qualitative analysis was carried out on teacher records and field notebooks used by a researcher. Content analysis was also included to a set of interviews and conversations with the Educational Community involved in the process. More specifically, the following were analysed: (i) the process of the child's entry into the Artistic School; (ii) the work carried out by the piano teacher in the first three months of the study; (iii) the curricular adaptations proposed by the Teachers of the Ensemble and Music Training class so that the child could fulfil the proposed objectives and (iv) the arrangements and musical compositions adapted so that the child could fulfil the demands of the school programme. Among the results we highlight the importance of collaborative work as well as the curricular adaptations made by the teachers, which were fundamental so that the child under study can develop all his/her artistic potentialities in an active and participatory way. We also found an urgent need for specific training so that support is possible, even in the smallest details. This study reveals important antecedents not only for this child, but for all children with intellectual disabilities to be able to participate fully and actively in this type of education.

ABSTRACT. Introduction Social inequalities in health are systematic, avoidable, and unfair differences in health outcomes between social groups in a population. Thus, the life expectancy of the most vulnerable groups in Denmark is 15-20 years shorter than the general population. Vulnerable people have typically very frequent contact with a wide range of different health care services. Paradoxically, however, their access to health care remains poor. To address this inequality the views and experiences of vulnerable people on health care services are vital. Goals and Methods We address the lack of research focusing on how structural determinants at macro level interact with social/cultural determinants at micro level, and focus on what we call ‘organisational determinants’. We use a critical case of a novel cross sectoral treatment model for people with severe mental illness. Following and observing the informants at home and in treatment we wish to document the journeys through the health system. We use interviews and ‘photo voice’ to capture the patient narratives combined with health care professional focus group interviews, to understand how inequality in access to health care come about for people with severe mental illness. Qualitative research on the most vulnerable groups, is particular exposed to methodological and ethical dilemmas that are not always covered by universal guidelines like the Helsinki Declaration. The ‘voices’ and perceptions of this group are vital to understand, and change, the skewed access to health care. Distrusfullness is pervasive for many of the most vulnerable. Issues like recruiting informants, obtaining informed consent, making appointments etc. are therefore repeatedly challenged and re-negotiated. This calls for an approach that is more perceived as an ongoing relational process than a contractual agreement. Results Our results will contribute to developing qualitative methods targeted some of the most vulnerable groups by discussing methodological dilemmas and challenges.

ABSTRACT. Using bibliometric analysis in combination with qualitative content analysis, it is possible to discover important characteristics of scientific articles and to gain insights into the progress of other researchers' work, scientific trends, most cited authors, the relationships between keywords recurring in publications, and other important parameters of scientific texts. Our study aims to explore the topic of virtual reality in education by means of bibliometric analysis of scientific publications with the aid of visualization tools and co-word analysis. The WoS and Scopus databases were chosen. Data from 1990 to 2021 were collected and analyzed using the search query "Virtual reality AND education”, with a focus on journal articles and no restriction on the scientific field. Additionally, a qualitative content analysis of the five most cited articles was done. The study analyzed 13,593 publications. We found, that since 2015, there has been an intense growth of publications on this topic. The three main fields in which articles were cited the most were nursing, human-computer interaction, and education & educational research. Four main themes have emerged over the last decade: (i) research on virtual reality technologies and innovative solutions for education, (ii) research on the impact of virtual reality on learners of different ages, (iii) research on the adaptation of learning materials to virtual reality, and (iv) research on learning with virtual reality. The results of the qualitative content analysis revealed the main categories and subcategories of the most cited publications which shows what scientists are currently interested in. The bibliometric analysis provides insights into the diversity of research on the chosen topic. These insights allow researchers to better understand the landscape of virtual reality in education and to choose less explored areas when planning new research. This study also demonstrates the combination of bibliometric analysis and qualitative content analysis methods.

ABSTRACT. Introduction

In high-risk groups, voluntary vaccinations remain low, which points to the need for a more profound reflection on the socio-cultural background of vaccination-related behaviours. Therefore, we chose to focus on biographical experiences and intergenerational impact on health that could provide a deeper understanding of the vaccination phenomenon and thus may enable overcoming vaccination barriers.

Goals and Methods

The project explores 1) what social representations of influenza vaccination are shared by older citizens who made varied decisions about flu vaccination in the last three seasons; 2) how older citizens frame representations within health and illness interpretations; 3) how the vaccination phenomenon's understanding links to health-related behaviours during the life course.

The study involves a mixed method approach: survey questionnaire and biographical interviews with older citizens. We use a survey to collect sociodemographic data, information about vaccination experiences and to measure attitudes towards vaccination. Additionally, we ask open-ended questions about free associations with words: 'vaccinations', 'influenza', and 'health'. It enables us to create an initial framework for further interview analysis. In the biographical interviews, we focus on health in the life story. We explore different ways of using language to set a narrative about health experiences and intergenerational messages regarding vaccination or other health-related behaviours.

Results

Using content and narrative analysis, we recreate the social representation of vaccination – the core and peripheral elements and internal contradictions – and present their dynamics over time and towards an object of immunisation. We also recreate vaccinations' semantic field. Combining the results, we devise a conceptual map that displays the relations between vaccination decisions, vaccine representations, and health and illness understanding.

Conclusions

The broad profile based on sociodemographic and health-experience data combined with deep biographical insight could provide more accurate characteristics of older populations of different vaccination approaches and be used to create better-tailored public interventions.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Annually, unsafe food causes more than 500 million foodborne diseases worldwide. Although 8 out of 10 food street sales in Ecuador are contaminated, the strategies to improve food safety are limited. In consequence, foodborne illnesses remain a public health challenge. Goals and Methods: A phenomenological-qualitative study was conducted in the urban area of Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca (Ecuador) from February to December 2020. Forty-one in-depth interviews were applied using the Community Readiness Model (CRM) tool. Key actors' (i.e., Ministry of Health, Food Safety Regulatory Agencies, city councils, food handlers, consumer advocacy groups, health professionals, food deliverers, and cleric representatives) were interviewed using digital platforms (i.e., Zoom) to assess community readiness to implement strategies to promote food safety among informal handlers considering five dimensions: existing community efforts, community knowledge about the efforts, leadership, community climate, knowledge about the issue, and resources. Two independent researchers calculated a global score for each dimension. A final overall score per city was calculated by averaging all dimension scores. Results: The three cities showed similar community readiness to manage food safety among informal vendors, according to the key actors. The overall score was three, representing a "vague awareness" degree. Community members have heard a little about local efforts to face food safety at this stage. Leadership and community members are aware that something should be done, but there is no immediate motivation to act. In addition, there is limited knowledge about the issue and restricted resources for further efforts to address it. Conclusions: The dimensions' scores based on the qualitative data obtained in the interviews showed a vague awareness of the contamination of informal food sales in three Ecuadorian cities. Further actions should consider the level of community readiness to succeed.

ABSTRACT. Introduction Extensive discussions of one’s positionality - how identities, philosophical assumptions, class and cultural backgrounds, and professional privileges shape one's motivations, questions, methods, and findings - are foundational to qualitative inquiry. Within positionality, importance of finding a theoretical fit has been compared to finding one’s home (De Marrais, Moret, & Pope, 2018). Notable researchers offered guidance on developing one’s positionality, shared detailed considerations of positionality in research, discussed impact of insider/outsider positionality, and examined the role of critical reflexivity to enhance rigor. However, recently there is awareness that disclosures of researchers’ lived experiences reveal vulnerability and can place researchers at risk for criticism that surpasses scrutiny of their ideas into the domain of private life (Brown, 2022), and for emotional exhaustion and devaluation of their work as not meeting the standards of objectivity and neutrality (Massoud, 2022). In research methodology courses, students often exhibit uncertainty, misunderstandings, and mixed emotions when engaging in writing about their positionality. Experiences of doctoral students are not well understood and warrant a study.

Goals and Methods This qualitative study explored how doctoral students in an online program think about their positionality statements and explain reasons to share or not to share specific experiences and dimensions of their positionality in research. Participants were enrolled in research methodology courses in an online doctoral program in the US over the past two years.  Thematic analysis strategies (Roulston, 2001; Braun & Clarke, 2006) were used to explore course documents, i.e.,  written dialogues among students on the discussion board and assignments that focused on developing positionality statements, with a goal to understand students’ ideas about their positionality in research, willingness to share their lived experiences, reasons to include or leave out information in positionality statements, positive and negative feelings associated with writing about positionality. 

Results and Conclusions Findings illuminate ways in which doctoral students approach and question their positionality relative to their research goals and produce statements of positionality for their dissertations. These insights present novel questions for existing scholarship on subjectivity in research. Implications inform pedagogy to holistically support wellbeing and positionality of researchers as a means to establishing credibility, promoting diversity, and supporting efficacy of emerging scholars.

ABSTRACT. In recent decades, much research has been carried out in the field of musical learning and the motivational factors associated with it. However, in these studies, there is some limitation of references to group musical practice, namely orchestral practice. The aim of this study is to understand the phenomenon of musical practice in orchestra, namely, to understand how this practice is reflected in the motivation and learning of students in relation to instrumental learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 orchestral students to learn the attitude, feelings and perceptions of the students involved. Content analysis involved: (1) systematic approach to the data analysis process, (2) use of data reduction methods and 3) coding the data into categories. The qualitative analysis of the data collected indicates that students feel motivated for orchestral practice and that it can be positively reflected in the student's learning and motivation to engage in learning the instrument. The orchestra practice seems to result in increasing the time of practice and clearly helps the development of musical and social skills. On the other hand, this study shows that there may also be problems in orchestral practice. The students interviewed strive to overcome the challenges and constraints, particularly in the adaptation phase, to successfully perform the task. The absence of direct help seems to generate a need for autonomy that students develop in orchestra, which results in a perception of competence. The need to establish bonds is met by playing in orchestra, a space in which students establish social bonds with their peers. Playing in orchestra seems to be the challenge in which the balance between the perception of the difficulty of the task and the perception of being competent to perform it successfully is present. That is, playing in orchestra seems like a great level challenge.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The simultaneity and confluence of territories promote a constant and malleable interplay between the cultures, experiences (performative and creative), and traditional and contemporary processes of the Arts and Art System. The dialogic relationship through its multiple crosses presents itself as one of the significant challenges to research in the arts fields. The multiplicity of knowledge, procedures, and data of the artist/researcher, sometimes converting perspectives or introducing new possibilities of interpretation allow to understand the contemporary senses of creation and artistic performance but also gives the artistic research a singular character. Goals and Methods: The main goals are: (i) know the issues, paradigms, and contemporary methodologies in research in Arts Education, (ii) discuss themes and theories in the field of the study of artistic practices and their actors and contexts, and (iii) to differentiate conceptual and methodological aspects of research in Arts Education. A review systematically the current body of work was developed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify relevant studies. Results: After screening and its determinant factors were retained for synthesis, studies revealed that we (i) have to make clear what are the differences and similarities compared to research in the sciences and the humanities, (ii) only by developing an adequate epistemology artistic research will be able to contribute to and gain evidence for a new social aesthetics of existence, (iii) the sustainability of artistic research is still insufficiently considered even today and guaranteed only in a limited fashion. Conclusions: Artistic research must define its field more precisely, cultivate it, and adjust its methods and processes. Looking at artistic research from a societal perspective can contribute not only to the adjustment of epistemological and methodology definitions of artistic research but also to the construction of a new social aesthetic.

ABSTRACT. The natural connection between the use of vocal chords and the pedagogy of fricciones string instruments, is a topic that although often addressed by pedagogues, shows in the traditional pedagogical discourse a clear lack of organised scientific understanding. As with vocal chords, the strings used for the instruments obey the same kind of acoustic rules. Within this context, references on this topic were sought, both in scientific literature on string instrument acoustics, and in pedagogical references from the cellist Janos Starker (1924-2013). In this work a qualitative analysis of both auditory and technical perceptions of beginner students (from regional conservatories) and advanced students (attending cello lessons at university level) was carried out. The qualitative analysis also included series of interviews with pedagogues from different backgrounds, training, and teaching levels. Using auditory technology and instrumental experimentation, measurable sound aspects were also records such as: the clarity of the onset of a note, the harmonic spectrum of sound and sound sustain. These results verified that these musical and technical aspects of cello playing are equally important to be addressed to both beginner and advanced students. In the students, Three important sections of sound production were defined: (i) energetic impulse for the beginning of the vibration; (ii) sound sustain; (iii) release of intensity before connection to the next sound. These features were also referred to as (i)consonant, (ii) vowel, (iii) vocalizo, terminologies used in describing voice use. It could be verified that the scientific awareness of the main rules of acoustic sound production, as well as of the nature of sound production with vocal cords, can have immediate results in the students' technical and musical organization, when carefully "transformed" into specific instrumental technique.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: This paper will explore how qualitative systematic literature review (SLR) can contribute to our understanding about the trends in upper-limb wearable devices. These devices are pieces of electronic equipment that can be worn as accessories, such as watches, or embedded in clothing, including gloves and sleeves. These devices could play an important role on subjects’ quality of life after any occurrence that affects their possibility to perform basic activities autonomously. Moreover, these devices can be used to improve manual performance task as surgical or precision tasks when performed under extreme ambient temperature conditions. Goals and Methods: A SLR about upper-limb embedded devices was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science. Two research questions: “How has this technology been evolving?”, and “What is the trend according to the fields of application?”, were outlined. The combination of keywords (upper-limb* AND wearable* AND device*), were used in the title, abstract and keywords fields. The choice of these keywords had to do with their relevance for this topic. Results: The SLR was carried out following the guidelines of PRISMA statement. A total of 592 document were obtained (accessed on 15 November 2022). This number decreased after excluding duplicates and documents in press. Only articles, conference papers and book chapters were considered. For the data/metrics extraction and analysis process, the qualitative web-based data analysis webQDA software was resorted to, and the free software VOSviewer was used for the constructing and viewing bibliometric maps of the co-authorship and co-citation networks. Combining the information gathered, it is possible to address the extent and the emerging trends in upper-limb embedded devices development according to the field they are applied in. Conclusions: With this research, a starting point in the development of a proof of concept of a novel device aimed at improving dexterity in challenging environments is established.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Organizations are increasingly becoming more diverse in nationalities, genders, and ages. Considering the possible new challenge that is leading a diverse workforce (e.g., increased creativity and decision-making, but also greater conflict and poorer communication), it is crucial to understand how leaders manage such challenges. The Theory of Attachment Based Exploratory Interest Sharing (TABEIS) provides a powerful framework to understand how managing a diverse workforce is experienced by leaders, and if it is experienced as a threat, with a response of fear (i.e., self-defense system activated) or defensive caregiving, or as an opportunity to explore new ideas and be creative (i.e., exploratory interest sharing system activated). Goals and Methods: Focusing on cultural diversity, a qualitative exploratory and descriptive single-case study design was employed with the purpose of identifying the cognitive, affective and/or behavioral strategies employed when managing cultural diversity challenges, using the TABEIS framework. Information was collected from 11 first and second-level Portuguese leaders belonging to the same organization, who manage at least one diverse work team; using semi-structured and critical incident interviews, and written narratives. Information was analyzed with categorical content analysis, using NVivo. Results: To manage the challenges of cultural diversity, leaders often act as caregivers (exploratory: 58.5%, defensive: 5.6%), followed by a self-defense/fear response (17.0%), sometimes associated with a defensive careseeking response (3.8%; exploratory careseeking was 1.9%). When managing specific challenges leaders also activated their exploratory interest sharing system (9.43%) or their internal environment system (3.77%). Conclusions: When managing cultural diversity challenges there are times when leaders experience or perceive a threat to their well-being. However, more often, challenges are perceived as learning opportunities for leaders, the team, and the organization. These results can be a tool for training leaders, helping them better understand how to address challenging situations while promoting the well-being of all organizational actors.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The development of critical thinking skills is important in the training of nurses because caring for a healthy or sick person is complex. It requires knowledge and practices that are transmitted to each human being, constituting an essential commitment of the teacher. Apply the skills of this thought: argumentation, supporting the position of students in the face of health problems; analysis, explaining the present and observed facts; problem solving, looking for a way out of the present problem and evaluation, involves making decisions for effective actions. Objective: To reveal through its manifestations the skills of critical thinking for teaching. Methodology: Phenomenological study, supported by Merleau-Ponty, which proposes to understand a situation experienced by a human being. Random sample, made up of 20 teachers who met the selection criteria: use of critical thinking skills and desire to participate. The guiding questions: do you apply critical thinking skills? Which ones and how do they apply? The phenomenological interview was developed in teaching offices. The data was transcribed, analyzed and interpreted using the Giorgi technique: data reading, grouping of meanings and identification of meaning units. Results: The units of meaning that emerged were: difficulties of application by subjects according to reports from teachers, who do not list the skills used, argue rigid class schedules, existing inapplicability in practice. The second unit of meaning: uses role-playing, sociodrama, case studies, and dialogue lectures. There are two categories: related to content and teaching strategies, two subcategories: academic difficulties and teaching techniques. Conclusions: Teachers poorly apply critical thinking skills, evidencing the use of traditional approaches with ignorance of critical thinking skills. Training with these skills is essential to have competent professionals.

ABSTRACT. Community empowerment plays a key role in how society works. Encouraging communities and promoting socioeconomic growth especially in rural areas, has also shown to be of fundamental importance for the progress of any region. Women in rural communities seem to have been left to play roles at home whereas recent literature suggests that empowering them can boost their community development (Buendía-Martínez & Carrasco, 2013; Erazo et al., 2014; Soto & Fawaz, 2016). Based on inductive qualitative research, this case study describes the perceptions of five rural women from Sarapiquí in the Northern Region of Costa Rica, after being part of a training process of tourist entrepreneurships during 2015-2018. It also explores how their experiences and empowerment processes contribute to their community. Centered on Feminist Theory (Grbich, 2009), the study used content analysis (Hatch, 2002) and WebQDA (Costa et al., 2019) to digitally categorize semantic relationships to present the women’s perceptions. Data were collected and triangulated through semi-structured interviews, field observations, and document gathering. Results suggested the participants’ active involvement in the community, gender roles and family influence implications, and their distinctive empowerment perceptions as well as introspective processes regarding what it feels like to be empowered women. The study will help to better apprehend the experiences and the role women play in the rural community.

ABSTRACT. In this paper we address some of the tensions associated with the proliferation of screens in the university environment. The advance in the digitalisation of the university has precipitated a whole series of tensions and problems that are still unresolved, linked to agentivity in learning, the precariousness of relationships or the economy of attention, among many others. Our participation in the TRAY-AP research project (PID2019-108696RB-I00) on learning of young university students encourages us to explore the unforeseen effects of the intensive incorporation of digital devices in higher education. To do so, we adopted a methodological approach based on collaborative autoethnography (CAE), from which to confront not only the challenges associated with the advance of university technologisation, but also its effects on the construction of our personal and professional identity. It is proposed a polyphonic approach, in three voices, in which we bring to our reflections the experiences of the teachers and students with whom we have been in dialogue during this project. In this contribution, we will focus on three tensions associated with the degradation of personal relationships to which we have been subjected by the over-exposure to communication through screens. We also address the conflict linked to the consumption of our attention by the colonisation of digital devices. And finally, in the rise of digital public profiles through which the contributions and social and institutional commitment of university professors seems to be simplified to the quantification of their research results. This paper aims to reveal some of the perverse effects that the growing incorporation of digital technology in the university is having on the academic and personal lives of those of us who are part of it.

ABSTRACT. Sociologists have not neglected the study of relationships, but there remains no central definition of what a relationship is. This study offers a definition of relationships that supports a conceptual tool and visualization technique for analyzing relational processes that are otherwise difficult to model using standard ethnographic methods and social network analysis techniques. Grounded in the work of social psychologists and relational sociologists, the premise of this proposition is that relationships are both remembered and imagined. I maintain that relationships are molded by a flow of changing circumstances and dynamic cognitive processes, a characteristic that I refer to as disjointed fluidity. In other words, disjointed fluidity refers to the quality of relationships as consisting of discrete episodes, but having a sense and appearance of seamlessness. With interview, direct observation, and participant observation data from my study on doctoral student mentorship, I use this perspective to detail the mechanisms by which relationships are created, maintained, and dissolved. I go on to introduce a new computational ethnographic technique that visualizes relationship properties and characteristics of relational processes using cognitive– temporal depictions called pixels and flows. This book contributes to the efforts in relational sociology to build a universal conceptualization of relationships. It differs from existing literature in its focus on the elements of relationships and their function in social construction. This study has applications in computational ethnography, social network analysis, and various substantive fields.

ABSTRACT. Introduction Research on various stages is increasingly more often taking a computer-mediated form: relevant software for data analysis and on-line communication among a research team. This mode of research has become more popular due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the months-long lockdown, which prompted some social scientists to pursue the qualitative research in a remote mode.

Goals and Methods The purpose of this paper is to present the solutions brought by NVivo in terms of collaborative research, as well as to point out possibilities and limitations connected with qualitative research using caqdas (based on NVivo example). Our paper is of reviewing and explanatory nature. It follows our personal experience as CAQDAS users. The paper also derives from our autoethnographic observations as researchers implementing projects with CAQDAS tools.

Results The paper presents a number of possible solutions that can be successfully applied in the implementation of collaborative research using the options and functions available in NVivo. With NVivo tools, the qualitative researchers gain the ability to carry out research at both the conceptual and analytical stages without the need for face-to-face meetings but based on the solutions implemented in the software.

Conclusions CAQDAS used in team research brings certain challenges related to technical and organizational issues as well as to researchers’ mentality. However, the use of CAQDAS in team research allows to: (1) significantly reduce the cost of conducting the study (not only economically, but also environmentally, ), (2) to limit physical contact if it could jeopardize the safety of interaction partners (e.g. during a pandemic, but also a temporary health indisposition), (3) or to carry out a study at all that would otherwise not take place (e.g., due to insufficient budget or too much geographical distance, which is especially important in international projects).

ABSTRACT. Introduction: We developed a longitudinal study of UAE government communication focusing on the concepts of happiness, positivity and well-being as government policy. In 2016, Dubai and the UAE appointed a Happiness Minister. In the May 2020 government reshuffle, the 'Quality of Life and Happiness' portfolio was moved to the Ministry of Community Development. Goals and Methods: The main objective of the study is to understand the impact of the extinction of the Ministry of Happiness on policies for happiness, positivity and well-being. We also want to understand the presence of these policies in government communication. We retrieved news published online in English from January 2021 to the end of November 2022 and information from the government website. We listed the news headlines and then conducted a content analysis using webQDA software. Results: The results indicate a significant decrease in news about the above policies and related initiatives. However, we were able to infer that the concepts still play an important role in the government's long-term programs. Conclusions: The study allowed two distinct realities to be observed: on the one hand there is a clear decrease in happiness-related initiatives and the closure of many Happiness Centres due to the 100% digital services policy, and on the other hand, the continued focus on well-being and the consolidation of the government goal of working for a happy society. The use of qualitative methodology and in particular content analysis with the webQDA software was of utmost importance for the validation of our conclusions and thus added scientific value to the studies.

ABSTRACT. Introduction - The focus of this study was exemplary geriatric nursing interventions that effectively supported families and long-term care residents in Canada during visiting restrictions resulting from COVID-19. This qualitative study used web content exclusively as data sources.

Goals and Methods - This study can be categorized as qualitative descriptive research which has as its goal a comprehensive summary of events in the everyday terms of those events. The first step was identifying artifacts to be analyzed usually using electronic databases, specific search terms, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the data to be analyzed were collected, the subsequent phases involved identifying units, creating categories based on commonalities in the units, and looking for relationships between these categories to create themes. An analysis of data artifacts including news reports, blogs, and social media postings was completed.

Results – Thematic analysis resulted in four themes: dedication amidst challenge, innovation and continuous learning, living their nursing values, and purposeful knowledge sharing. These themes were described using a framework that depicts four pillars of exemplary nursing practice: professionalism, scholarly practice, leadership, and stewardship. A link is made between these pillars of exemplary practice and enactment of family-focused care.

Conclusions – Web content provided data that were easily accessible and represented participants from a wide geographic area (many of whom may not have been able to participate if other means of data collection were used). Further, using web content reduced travel and environmental costs and health risks of data collection. Limitations of using data only available on the web included the possible exclusion of participants who did not have Internet access, challenges with assessing the quality of the data, potential for researchers to be biased in selecting which artifacts to include in the study, and lack of opportunity for follow-up conversations with participants.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is illegal in Canada under Bill C-27. However, it is currently unclear how the normative standards perpetuated by this law 1) affect women with FGM/C and their reproductive health care encounters, and 2) shape the organization of obstetrician/gynecologists’ (OB/GYNs) work in caring for this population.

Methods: To better understand the social relations that shape women with FGM/C’s reproductive health care experiences, we conducted a qualitative study using institutional ethnography. In-depth, one-on-one, semi-structured interviews were held with eight women with FGM/C and seven OB/GYNs.

Results: While this research did not begin with inquiry into the law, participants discussed policies and legislation. Women with FGM/C felt excluded in the Canadian context due to a lack of access to clitoral reconstructive surgery. They struggled to find a doctor to perform this surgery, which was also financially inaccessible since it was not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). OB/GYNs also explained the legal limitation on the surgeries they could perform, which favoured those commonly sought by Western women as opposed to ones sought by women with FGM/C.

Conclusions: Women with FGM/C in this research expressed facing inequity as a result of their lack of access to clitoral reconstructive surgery. The inaccessibility of this procedure as described by participants mirrored Canadian legal limitations on the choices that adult immigrant women with FGM/C could make regarding their bodies. Further work is necessary to elucidate more concrete connections between OHIP and the law as it pertains to women with FGM/C.

ABSTRACT. Story completion represents a narrative method whereby research participants are asked to complete a story from an opening hypothetical scenario or 'stem’ created by researchers. It typically reflects western cultural conventions around storytelling with a beginning, middle and an end. We reflect on the fact that, despite the burgeoning use of this method in recent years, there has been a failure to address the ways in which this method can be used in culturally safe ways. We noted the lack of cross-cultural reflexivity vis-à-vis this method. Our conversation centres around our experience using digital story completion to stimulate thoughts with respect to the impact of Covid-19 using a pandemic related scenario. Demographic profiles of our respondents indicated little diversity with respect to ethnicity, geographic locale and educational background. We discuss story completion as reinforcing rather than disrupting norms regarding narrative studies and what constitutes the essence of a story. When using story completion, we suggest three considerations be addressed: western constructions of storytelling, creating the hypothetical scenario/stem, and recruitment strategies. A rhizomatic analysis allowed us to frame practical strategies to each of the above considerations in order to enhance the story completion method and to align it with decolonising research methodologies.We suggest embracing messy stories, exploring diverse notions of storytelling, favouring story fragments [rather than stems], story assemblage [rather than completion], co-designing story fragments with the target population, and collaborating with communities to co-design culturally appropriate projects.

ABSTRACT. The research to be presented has been carried out in the context of a Teaching Innovation and Improvement Project for the 2021/2022 academic year, called "Healthy leisure for students of the university population". The study is framed at the University of Salamanca. It is aimed at integrating and developing the Sustainable Development Goals, responding to the research question: What profiles of leisure and free time does and demand the youth population of the University of Salamanca? A mixed methodology has been used, with a concurrent triangulation design in which the quantitative and qualitative phases are developed simultaneously in parallel to make a final interpretation of both phases when establishing the conclusions. In the quantitative phase, a descriptive and cross-sectional design has been used, and in the qualitative phase, a phenomenological design. For data collection, a closed and open-response questionnaire was used. A total of 487 students from the University of Salamanca participated, selected by a snowball criterion, through which the students provided the questionnaire to other classmates. Team sports stand out among the leisure and free time activities most practiced by students, with paddle tennis being the most reported. As improvements to the offer of leisure and free time activities of the University of Salamanca, it was observed that trips and excursions should be increased, together with social activities of coexistence. Among the research limitations, the difficulties in disseminating the tool among the participants stand out due to its high teaching load. As a future line of research, it is intended to deepen students' leisure using technology, social networks, and video games.

ABSTRACT. The current education model for key competencies sets a guided path through the official curriculum, often delivered through an autonomous and repetitive approach by the education centres. Therefore, based on Dewey and Kolb’s experiential learning concepts, several experiential activities have been designed for Astronomy education to be offered by a multidisciplinary team of specialists. To analyse its efficiency, our research team proposed the following question: What key benefits and competencies can be acquired through experiential learning activities related to Astronomy? The team applied a qualitative methodology and an interpretative approach to the observational study. It involved the participation of 42 first-year students of Compulsory Secondary Education, divided into two equal groups. An observation checklist was designed and validated for data collection, and 60 photographs of nature were selected. CAQDAS and, in particular NVivo 12, were the tools used for data analysis. One of the most significant findings is that the students who received an enriching experience through the proposed learning model show a higher level of attention, engagement, interest, participation, and reflection on the activities, the results and the learning, with hypothetical situations that help them to derive, channel and apply the knowledge to their daily life.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide and is the cause of 100% of cervical cancer (CC) cases. Women with CC precursor lesions show poor knowledge about their condition and perceive a lack of communication with health professionals. Having a diagnosis caused by an STI and being under medical surveillance for a long period of time to avoid developing cancer, implies a negative psychosocial impact on women. To date, no studies have been conducted that analyze the experiences of health professionals involved in the healthcare of these women in primary and specialized care. Goals and Methods: A generic qualitative research from a post-structuralist perspective will be carried out in different primary healthcare centers and gynecological units in Madrid (Spain), to explore experiences of health professionals (midwives, nurses, general practitioners and gynecologists) during the diagnosis, medical follow-up, and treatment of women with CC precursor lesions. Healthcare professionals will be recruited though purposive sampling. Data collection will be carried out through semi-structured individual interviews, that will be recorded and transcribed. Information power criterion will determine the final sample size relative to each professional category. Data will be analyzed through a thematic analysis. Results: Three major themes related to the experiences of health professionals will be identified: a) Strategies used by health professionals to prevent CC and manage the psychosocial effects that preventive practices have on women, b) Strategies used by health professionals to provide information and establish an effective communication with women, and c) Strategies used by health professionals to manage stigma during medical consultations. Conclusions: Primary and specialized healthcare professionals should receive specific training on the informational and psychosocial needs of women with CC precursor lesions. Clinical practice guidelines must include holistic care for these women, guaranteeing their well-being throughout the healthcare process.

ABSTRACT. Each year, approximately 400,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer globally. More than 80 percent of childhood cancers can be cured with cancer treatments. Early and late oral side effects of cancer treatment include pain, dry mouth, oral infections, dental caries, and problems with teeth and jaw development, as well as difficulty tasting. These oral health complications can lead to cognitive, psychological, and social impairments which can have a profound impact on children’s well-being. To date, our knowledge of the effects of cancer treatment comes from clinical research, and research involving caregivers’ perspectives. It is essential to bring children’s voices into discussions and decisions about their own health conditions. This project will be the first to directly ask children about their experiences. The aim of this study is to better understand how the oral health effects of cancer treatments impact the well-being of children. Participants will be recruited from a tertiary care pediatric hospital. A hermeneutic participatory ethnographic methodology will be used, with a Childhood Ethics theoretical framework to center children’s perspectives in our data and analysis. Data will be generated with participant observation and semi-structured interview. We will observe discussions among children, families/friends, and healthcare providers, paying particular attention to information about the child’s well-being. We will interview 10-15 children who are undergoing or have completed cancer treatments, as well as their parents, siblings, friends, and their healthcare providers. Through this research, we will be able to identify how the oral health effects of cancer treatment affect these children’s lives and understand the health and social factors that influence their experiences. Together with our clinical and patient partners, we will translate these results into clinical and policy changes and develop future research (e.g., focused on what we learn is important to childhood cancer survivors).

ABSTRACT. Abstract:

Introduction: Alternative journalism is, in general, associated with political involvement, however, it can comprise a series of other themes. The internet has facilitated many communication processes, but also created more complexity. Social networks created the basis for a greater dissemination of alternative journalism.  

The continued existence of some forms of alternative journalism and the expansion of social spaces for dialogue and participation remain essential for the healthy functioning of society. 

Goals and Methods: The main goal of this qualitative study is to understand the visibility of alternative journalism on the digital world. Data was retrieved from the internet corpus latente. In terms of qualitative techniques, we used the content analysis and case study. 

Results: The results allowed us to infer that most of the alternative journalism is dedicated to political themes and that Reporters Sans Frontières organization through its significant worldwide network highlights sensitive themes of global political affairs; the impact of their work is emphasized by the speed of transmission and the reach of the news published on the online platform. 

Conclusions: We were able to conclude that there is a strong presence of alternative journalism in digital media, with predominance for political themes. The publication of the Press Freedom Index, for instance, allowed to infer that there is a high degree of professionalism and the existence of an Online Barometer where the numbers of victims of repression on freedom of expression are registered, demonstrates not only the political aspect that has been highlighted, but the need to protect the work of these professionals and citizens. 

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Patent is a valuable source of information to help evaluate trends in research, since they reveal the areas of innovation that inventors are focused on. Another relevant point is that it is public and reliable information. Goals and Methods: This paper aims to present an approach to analyze the conceptual structure of a patent corpus using the R-Bibliometrix package. The methodology comprised the following steps: research in the Lens database on the theme virtual worlds, which recovered 4448 patent applications and 1975 granted patents; the metadata were exported in CSV format and imported by the R-Bibliometrix package; for the analysis of the conceptual structure of the corpus, they were generated the thematic map, the thematic evolution and the dendrogram of the topics, both with the information extracted from the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) codes at the subclass level and from the bigrams of the abstracts. The coding established by the CPC allows the identification of the state of the art of a patent. Results: The results show the potential of the R-Bibliometrix package for categorizing the technologies involved in research, the evolution over the period, and the relationships between subclasses of technologies represented by the dendrogram. The thematic map allowed the identification of the main patents that contributed to each cluster. Conclusions: Exploring patents data offer opportunities to build knowledge on research application, focus on technology and innovation, by using R-Bibliometrix package offers several resources that support the analysis of the conceptual structure with the visualization of conceptual and technological routes. This work was financially supported by the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

ABSTRACT. This presentation presents three proposals for reducing the complexity of qualitative research.  The first proposal is that we define qualitative research simply as research that uses qualitative data.  The second is that rather than appealing to worldviews and paradigms, that we limit our attention to the actual assumptions and claims that researchers have regarding their specific research projects when defining underlying project assumptions.   The third proposal is that we recognize that it is the research study aims, not a researcher’s ontology, which is mostly responsible for determining an appropriate methodology.   While relatively easy to do, adopting these proposals would have the advantages of simplifying the definition of qualitative research; allowing researchers to avoid unwarranted philosophical speculations; make projects more inclusive by allowing assumptions to be understandable by all team members, including community partners and those not trained in qualitative methodologies; and permit many qualitative projects, including those involving multi-disciplinary teams or mixed-methods approaches, to be easier to explain and conduct.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The plethora of emergency numbers in South Africa impacts on the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery for emergencies. These multiple existing emergency numbers have the potential to confuse the public as to what number to use when reporting emergencies. This impacts on service delivery due to a lack of interoperability and coordination amongst responding emergency agencies. One of the challenges facing the South African emergency services, is not having a single well-known national emergency number that can be used for all emergencies. Goals and Methods: The purpose of the study is to conduct a Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES) on the developing of a bricoleuric strategy for a single national emergency number in South Africa. As this study is ongoing, the effectiveness of emergency response numbers will be investigated, and emergency response strategies assessed for police, fire, medical/ambulance and local authority law enforcement. The research philosophy is interpretivism and the researcher will apply inductive reasoning. A qualitative metasynthesis according to the PICO framework to examine the primary question and assess service delivery by evaluating current approaches. Data will be collected through purposively selected articles of key words and search terms using PRISMA and critically appraised through Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). Thematic analysis using COSTA QDA and webQDA will be performed and the application of purposive sampling that is aligned with CASP. Articles considered for analysis will be those ethically approved by the authors. Results: The significance of the study is to improve coordination, cooperation and response to emergencies using one emergency number. This will improve service delivery and will globally harmonized the country with the world and Africa with a single common emergency number. Conclusion: As the study is on-going, conclusions and recommendations cannot be derived at, at this point. Key words: Bricoleuric, Bricolage, Emergency numbers, Strategy

ABSTRACT. Introduction

Assuring continued implementation fidelity of one-on-one family service programs in a nonprofit setting can be challenging. One challenging aspect is efficiently obtaining fidelity information with enough context, such as coding session transcripts, to inform quality improvement efforts.

Goals and Methods

This study is being conducted at a large nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide services for families with concerns of child safety in the home. We seek to understand and evaluate the presence of core program elements on parenting and family life skills during service delivery sessions with families. One fidelity approach was to audio record, transcribe, and code service delivery sessions. Another fidelity method was staff completing online activity logs following each session to indicate the primary themes addressed during that session. The initial results from the transcript codes and the online logs will be compared to better understand the added utility of coding transcripts compared to only using the activity logs.

Results

We anticipate that we will develop a transcript coding approach that provides perspectives beyond the activity logs that can be efficiently and reliably obtained. Based on prior work, we expect that higher rates of fidelity will be self-reported by staff than will be found from coding a sample of transcripts. This pilot study will provide information on the feasibility and usefulness of coding transcripts of service delivery provided individually to family members.

Conclusions

The goal of this study is to develop a way to incorporate the coding of direct service transcripts into ongoing quality improvement systems. While coding direct service delivery has been conducted in the context of research studies, the potential benefit of including an approach into a continuous quality improvement framework holds considerable promise.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Forced migration is a pervasive global health crisis requiring novel research approaches toward addressing the mental health needs of women who are impacted disproportionately. Despite much literature calling for integration of populations within community-based research designs, women who are refugees are often overlooked and excluded from partaking in research activities. In our efforts to enact inclusion while inquiring into the mental well-being of women who are Syrian refugees, we discuss the results of employing a longitudinal research design . that integrated the concept of Peer Research Assistants (PRAs).

Goals and Methods: Our study involved a longitudinal participatory action research design that included integration of women who were Syrian refugees as PRAs. Four PRAs participated in constructing recruitment and data collection material, led interview processes with study participants, gathered data over an 18 month period, as well as verified data analysis and findings. Knowledge mobilization of findings was also co-constructed with PRAs to ensure recommendations were grounded in the lived experiences.

Results: A literature review conducted prior to employing PRAs resulted in a model of PRA integration grounded in ethical principles of cultural safety and inclusion. Results of integrating PRAs into this study design included building women’s capacity related to leadership, literacy, and settlement. They also include generation of trusting relationships where knowledge sharing involved reciprocal learning of culture, language, and practical skills to enhance connection to services.

Conclusions: Integrating women who are refugees is a novel approach to qualitative research that provides a reciprocal space for knowledge exchange and grounding data in lived experience. The longitudinal approach to this study fostered trusting relationships and opportunities for PRAs to engage deeply in participants experiences of mental well-being over time. Being involved throughout the research process facilitated PRAs to generate knowledge mobilization activities that reflected community and organizational needs.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: In this presentation, we share our experiences and insights of applying intersectionality as an analytic tool with constructivist grounded theory (CGT )to describe processes used by public health nurses (PHNs) in their work with women who are refugees and mothering.

Goals and Methods: Our research was guided by the following question: What are the processes used by PHNs when working with mothering refugee women? We drew on seminal works of Patricia Hill Collins and Kimberlé Crenshaw to push the boundaries of CGT while also evolving intersectionality toward a goal of influencing knowledge generation that sought embedded structural influencers. Twelve PHNs were recruited and interviewed using three methods: initial, snowball and theoretical sampling. Concurrent data collection and analysis included iterative CGT methods such as coding, constant comparison, memoing, and reflexivity. Adoption of intersectional thinking and attentiveness to power differentials were among the analytical approaches used.

Results: From this study emerged a basic social process: Creating safe relational space. Intersectionality influenced the CGT process through exposing sociopolitical and economic structural forces shaping the interplay of care provision interactions. Participant experiences were analyzed for interactions involving social locations including gender, culture, race, and migration. These interactions were further scrutinized for structural impingement thereby magnifying sociopolitical priorities shaping PHN practice.

Conclusions: Applying intersectionality as an analytical tool provides a framework for engaging with multiple interlocking constructs such as race, culture, gender, and migrant status. Addressing these intersections supports an anti-racist and decolonizing approach to grounded theory approaches. Employing intersectionality drove analysis toward building on current equity-oriented initiatives while also questioning antiquated micro, meso and macro policies influencing care provision. For example, engaging in analysis of current refugee policies and how they center on supporting women can contribute to interrogation of outdated, ineffective structures.

ABSTRACT. Autoethnography is a modality of analysis developed within the framework of performative ethnography, which places the person who is the protagonist of the experience at the center of the interpretative practice (Custer, 2014). From there the person approaches his own experiences and relates them to the social phenomenon he studies, establishing a dialogic relationship between his individual experience (it can also be in a collaborative manner) and the object of his analysis . The field in which autoethnography is deployed, enables the interweaving of experiential practice with deep learning (Kumar, 2021).

From the university environment and with the conviction that the university must be at the service of society, and train people who transform the world, there is an increasing number of subjects where the development of knowledge and training skills are linked to the experience of providing a service to the community.

These subjects are carried out through the Learning and Service Methodology , that articulates deep learning processes and community service (Martín-García et.all, 2021), from the conviction that training becomes meaningful when it connects with the motivations and life experiences of the students (Ferran and Guinot, 2012). Students provide a solidarity service to meet real needs of their community, in a planned and integrated way in their curriculum, in order to develop values and attitudes of commitment and improvement of their social environment generating deep learning.

This article wants to present the autoethnographic design as a tool in the teaching-learning process of students that allows deep reflection and from where it is possible to eliminate the distance between observer and observed, in a self-analytical exercise, the result of which is an interpretation of the social phenomenon in which they are participating, being able to acquire perspectives of reflective thinking that otherwise would remain in the dark.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Obstetric violence (OV) during hospital-based childbirth is a systemic problem experienced by women worldwide. In Canada, the medicalization of birth, risk-averse cultures of care, nursing shortages, as well as social inequalities and settler colonialism produce unique contexts for harmful practices to occur in the provision of perinatal care. These practices are often normalized and underreported. In the country, low-income women, women from racialized or ethnic minorities, and immigrant women are more likely to experience OV, illustrating important structural dimensions of the issue. Nevertheless, the issue remains underexamined. Goals and Methods: The study seeks to explore OV in hospital-based childbirth by examining women’s experiences of OV, perinatal healthcare provider perspectives of OV, and the multi-level drivers that contribute to its occurrence. The study is guided by an intersectional feminist poststructuralist framework, an innovative analytic lens to examine individual experience nested within social, historical, and political contexts and power relations. An instrumental case study design is being used to explore the phenomenon in a large Canadian city. A purposive sample is being recruited. Data collection includes semi-structured interviews with women and perinatal healthcare providers, field notes, document review (e.g., institutional, governmental), and a review of mass and social media. Interviews will be analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s approach to thematic analysis. Data from field notes and document and media reviews will serve to contextualize participant experiences and contribute to a holistic and multi-level analysis of OV. Results: Through this study, we seek to understand the lived experience of OV and its impacts on women and their families, identify factors that contribute to its occurrence, and inform policies and practices that promote dignified, respectful, and safe obstetrical care. Conclusion: Raising awareness of OV will be an important step towards addressing and mitigating gender-based social and health inequalities that permeate women’s childbirth experiences.

ABSTRACT. In the second language classroom, socio-affective processes – such as group-identity and sense of belonging – have an impact on motivation and the learning journey of students. In order to understand the beliefs of a group of students of Spanish as a second language about their group-class identity and sense of belonging, a piece of qualitative research was conducted. The data was obtained through multiple instruments (focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and open-question surveys). This gave rise to a longitudinal study (with data obtained throughout two years), and a corpus of over 40,000 words. After having manually transcribed the corpus, the data was processed with Atlas.ti. Through grounded theory, different concepts and categories emerged. The concepts and categories that emerged were classified according to the level of agency of the subjects involved (teacher/ students) in the socio-affective processes that constitute the object of study (group-identity and sense of belonging). The first category identified refers to pedagogical practices, and it only involves the teacher. The second category only involves the students, and it refers to the instant messages they exchange on WhatsApp. The third category is co-constructed between the teacher and the students, and it consists of the collective imaginary they share (inner jokes and anecdotes from the classroom). Finally, the fourth and last category identified does not involve the teacher or the students, and it includes the architectural elements of the classroom and the schedule of the lessons. According to the participants of this case-study, all these categories have an impact on the co-construction of their group-class identity and the sense of belonging. A cohesive classroom, with high levels of group identity and sense of belonging, leads to more commitment from the students. Consequently, this all results in optimal conditions for the learning process of a second language.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The key benefits of qualitative research are rich insights and thick data. However, some argue these come at the cost of small sample sizes and low generalisability of findings. With traditional focus group discussions (FGDs), this could be addressed by conducting multiple groups. However, this requires significant investment of time and manpower. Goals & Methods: We explored methods to gather thick data quickly, aiming to increase the number of respondents without increasing manpower or lengthening fieldwork, while maintaining data quality. In this paper, we share our experience running a pilot study of a 1.5-hour online discussion with N=100 respondents, to capture in-depth responses at scale. Using pre-programmed questions and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide instant visual analyses of responses and additional probes to respondents live, we ran a full qualitative study with a bigger sample in the same duration required for a typical FGD. The discussion was text-based, with respondents being able to view and give their agreement or disagreement to what others may have said without interaction between them. Results: While this methodology does not replace traditional FGDs, it has proven effective in gathering large amounts of qualitative data for deeper understanding beyond typical quantitative surveys within a short duration, in real-time. However, the methodology has its limitations – the accuracy of probes to respondents through AI-generated algorithms (possibly mitigated through question types and a structured approach); limited interactions between respondents compared to traditional groups; the analyses of findings, which proved challenging, with manual data cleaning needed for higher levels of accuracy. Conclusions: Despite this, we believe it to be a successful attempt conceptually as the AI generated instant insight while the study was ongoing, particularly from open-ended (OE) responses. We recommend it for specific use cases such as quick sensing which require both breadth and scalability.

ABSTRACT. Introduction Given that numbers have some bearing on meaning, the use of numbers is essential in qualitative research. The authors identify the philosophical foundations and value-ladenness of the major research paradigms. They argue that both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies can produce relevant and useful research findings for counseling, as long as the researcher understands the importance of philosophical coherence when working within a specific research tradition.

Goals and Methods The goal of this study is to explore the quantitative dynamics of the qualitative research. This study will conduct a Qualitative Evidence Systematic Review, which is a summary of research literature focusing on a single question and claims the role of systematic reviews in evidence-based practices. The PICO framework (Population/Place; Intervention; Comparator; Outcome) will be used to conduct a Qualitative Evidence Systematic reviews to answer the question "What are Quantitative Dynamics of the Qualitative Research?". The PRISMA flow diagram will be used to critically appraise articles for eligibility, and the CASP assessment tool will be used to screen for relevance and duplicates. This approach will be used to analyze data deductively (using a positivist approach) and interpretively in order to more fully comprehend phenomena (using an interpretivist approach).

Results The insights gained will assist novice researchers, doctoral students, and the existing body of knowledge in comprehending the philosophical underpinnings of quantitative complexity in qualitative research.

Conclusions The use of numbers is a legitimate and valuable strategy for qualitative researchers when used in conjunction with an overall process orientation to the research. They are critical in qualitative research because they have an impact on meaning.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: learning motivation in higher education favors deep learning. In medical education it has been related to self-regulation and lifelong learning, essentials for good professional performance. The medical students motivation concept is related to the actions they undertake to learn, for this reason it´s important to kwow learning motivation conceptualization for students.

Objectives and methods: given the contrasts in learning motivation perceptions between teachers and students of a medical school, it was proposed to understand meanings of the motivation in students of clinical courses to identify relationships between the factors trough qualitative research based on Grounded Theory. The data was collected with semi-structured interviews, training practices observation according to a guide and conversation with participants at the end of practice   were carried out; the ATLAS.ti 9 software was used for the analysis.   2760 codes emerged and were grouped into 25 descriptive categories. The conceptualization of motivation category is presented.

Results: three subcategories related to the motivation concept emerged: 1. Meaning of being motivated: having desire and inspiration and dedicate efforts to achieve deep learning and approach goals, for the pleasure and commitment to achieve them. 2. Actions triggered by motivation: devoting time, discipline and resources, going further, use different sources and strategies, and 3. Characteristics and conditions of motivation: motivation is a dynamic process that requires own interests, tools and actions, and the interaction with others to reinforce and restore it if there is any difficulty.

Conclusions: for the participants, the meaning of learning motivation was focused on intrinsic and autonomous motivation and was related with personal interactions, the curriculum factors and factors of students (physical, cognitive, emotional and affective). Relationships with teachers, the institutional curriculum, peers and the support network influence motivation learning.

ABSTRACT.  

Introduction: The arrival of many Syrian refugees in Canada should have served as a wake-up call for health service providers in the country to reflect on the health, cultural, and psychosocial adaption of the refugees. Syrian refugee women’s experiences with the Ontario healthcare system required further exploration within the Canadian context.

Objective: To explore the pre-and post-migration experiences of Syrian refugee women in Ontario, Canada, and the impact on their health. The study also investigates the strategies and practices by which Syrian refugee women are currently addressing their health care needs and the models of care they suggest to meeting their health needs.

Methods: This study draws on a qualitative method using critical ethnography with an intersectional analysis lens. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and field notes were conducted with  . Collected data (interviews, field notes and participants observation) were thematically analyzed and NVIVO software was used.

Results: Compounded traumas and hardship, fear and worries, vulnerabilities, intrusions of dignity and perception of healthcare were common evolving themes that are proposed from this study. These experiences and challenges were aggravated by the structure of the Canadian social and healthcare system. The intersection of gender, trauma, and the political and economic conditions of Syrian refugee women shapes their everyday lives and health in Canada.

 Conclusions: Exploring the women’s journey of surviving trauma and adapting to a new life may contribute to the reconceptualization of refugees’ adaptation and inform social and health policy changes. The study findings may offer new insights on the impact of extant challenges of Canadian society on refugees’ health and well-being. This study offers a better understanding of the impact of migration and trauma on Syrian refugee women’s roles, responsibilities, gender dynamics, and interaction with Ontario’s healthcare system to improve interaction and outcomes.

ABSTRACT. We adopt “Do It Yourself” DIY in our project to have a closer understanding of Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian refugee women’s experiences of food and housing insecurity and the impact on their health and sense of belonging in Canada. Such understanding could assist in elaborating a critical analysis to show how these experiences relate to broader social and political structures of inequity and oppression. The method is informed by Wadsworth’s approach of doing DIY in social research project. Data were collected through Semi-structured interviews; DIY approach ask participants to be engaged in some activities that require transformation of raw or semi-raw material to transform or reconstruct material possessions. In our project, refugee women who engage in DIY projects (DIYers) go beyond the construction of meaning of a particular creative work or activity to a greater sense for change, as these women are both the creative thinkers and resilient producers. The method has interesting features including a participatory means of sharing experiences, a creative and enabling tool and approach for social change and empowerment. We asked the participants to provide their 3-5 creative handmade products  that they have deployed to combat food and housing insecurity and to promote their health and sense of belonging. These creative products can include (i.e. food recipes, smart grocery shopping practices, pictures, drawing, creative art work, home design improvement and decoration, house upgrading or landscaping yard). Collected data (interviews, field notes and participants observation) were thematically analyzed and NVIVO software was used. The selected product with the proposed captions will inform the development of a “digital book” as a final product of their activities. DYI underpins its potential to unpack refugee women’s experiences of vulnerabilities with a goal for empowerment, social justice and to bring their voices to the knowledge mobilization process.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic affected many health systems and economies, with over 160,000 confirmed cases in Ghana and approximately 1,500 deaths as of March 2020. Records of such historical challenges must be kept for future pandemics. Thus, our research question: what were the Ghanaian government's public health policies and approaches in its response to COVID-19? In addition, we assessed the trends and challenges in the government’s response. Goal and Methods: This qualitative research is a case study that used two databases: the presidential speeches from March 2020 to March 2022 on the government response to the pandemic and the WHO’s dashboard on COVID-19 cases in Ghana. A question guide was designed based on the study objectives and literature, including WHO’s guidelines on responses to the pandemic. The study used content analysis as the analytical approach, describing results in both words and frequencies. Results: This study had access to and used twenty-five speeches out of the twenty-eight speeches delivered for the period. There was a weekly time interval between speeches during the early phase (March 2020-May 2020) but yielded afterward to irregular wide intervals corresponding to the slow-down phase of the pandemic. The Government’s response aligned with WHO’s guidelines which included a multisectoral approach through collaborative efforts between various sectors. For example, the Ministries of Education and Communication launched online courses for students. Among the highlighted public health policies, all 25 speeches mentioned policies addressed to the general public. The most mentioned challenge was fear and stigmatization of infected persons, inhibiting others from self-reporting their status. Conclusion: The Government conformed to the WHO guidelines and adopted a multisectoral approach to tackling the pandemic in Ghana. For future pandemics, the government should, in addition to following standard guidelines, exert significant efforts to dispel myths, fears, and stigmatization to gain public trust.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Understanding why individuals participate in clinical research is needed to ensure accurate representation and inclusion of diverse/under-represented identities. This study aims to identify factors that motivate persons that live with HIV and other chronic medical conditions to enroll in a Phase II clinical research study through qualitative methodology.

Goals: To understand why individuals participate in clinical research, especially in the HIV population.

Methods: Participants were recruited from a Phase II study investigating how vagal dysfunction affects gastrointestinal (GI) and immune function in patients living with HIV. Study participants all successfully completed a battery of testing that assessed autonomic function, gut motility, blood, stool and saliva. Participants consented to a semi-structured, recorded interview and answered a demographic questionnaire. Transcripts were analyzed for primary themes using grounded theory methodology.

Results: Seven subjects were interviewed. Two identified as African American, two Hispanic/Latino, and three Caucasian. Four subjects identified as male, two as female, and one as nonbinary. Five had a chronic GI disorder and four were HIV positive. Three key themes influenced subject participation: personal health conditions, connection to a ‘health’ community, and empathetic interactions with the study team. Six participants expressed that learning more about their unknown chronic medical condition, whether it be the cause, pathogenesis, or simply ‘more,’ motivated their participation in the study. Four participants reported a desire to help their ‘health’ community (example, HIV). Along with these motivators, the positive and empathetic interactions with the study team eased any discomfort of the testing procedures and influenced participant retention.

Conclusion: This study revealed three keys themes that influence subject participation and can inform future Phase II study recruitment. Planned studies will examine generalizability to other laboratories and patient populations.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: In most patriarchal societies, sexual power dynamics are usually skewed against the female because of some inherent social constrictions. Likewise, adolescents and young women (AYW) face overlapping risks of violence due to their relative lack of power because of both their gender, and their status as children or young people in such a setting. Hence, many AYW have become victims of intimate partner violence because of lack of power to negotiate sex in heterosexual relationships. Adolescent girls in the slum areas are double vulnerable due to their environment and socioeconomic status. Methods: Two urban slums in Lagos and Ibadan cities were selected for the study. The study design involved ethnography qualitative research and took place from January-June 2021, which enabled the researcher to have an emic perspective of the study participants. Primary data were sourced from 40 female AYW ages (15-24) with in-depth interview (IDI), 9 focus group discussion (FGD) 8-each and young men with 12-IDIs, 6-FGDs, a total sample of 172. The field diary and notes collected during the fieldwork were assembled to form part of the thematic data analysis tools using Atlas ti version 8. Results: Findings from the study revealed that there were unequal power relations between the AYW and their partners as the male counterparts often dictated when to have sex, condom use, when to socialize and how to conduct their lives. This often resulted into violence leading to physical harm and poor sexual reproductive health outcome among AYW in the slum areas. Conclusion: The unequal power relationships between AYW and their partners influence intimate partner violence experience. This has an enormous impact on the achievement of the SDG 5.6.1, hence the need for holistic gender-transformative program among young people.

ABSTRACT. Parental divorce itself is a hurtful experience for children. However, a more hurtful experience could happen when children realize that there is no hope for their parents to be reunited. One way children could experience this is when they get to know their divorced parents are involved in new romantic relationships although parents’ dating after divorce may be beneficial when it turns out to be an opportunity to build a meaningful relationship (e.g., stepparent-stepchild tie) and help with postdivorce adjustment (e.g., boost parents' self-esteem). Given that introducing and discussing divorced parents’ new dating relationships to and with children is a possibly important step for stepfamily formation and relationship development, parent-child communication about parents' new romance has implications for postdivorce families. Regardless of this importance, a dearth of research on this topic, particularly from children’s perspectives, hinders research from providing implications drawn from empirical evidence regarding what constitutes the appropriateness of divorced parents’ discussing their new dating with and introducing their partners to children. Also, little is known about how parents should approach postdivorce dating particularly when children are involved. The purpose of this study was to examine young adult children’s perspectives of their divorced parents’ new dating relationships. Twenty-one young adults were interviewed between 60 and 90 mins with semi-structured questions. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by using grounded theory methods. Participants reported what constitutes appropriate parental discussion about their parents’ new dating after divorce and appropriate introduction of a new romantic relationship to them. Participants emphasized that both discussion and introduction should be child-focused. Contextual factors that affected participants’ perspectives and contributed to their unique experience varied. Findings have implications for future research and practice.

ABSTRACT. Introduction Since ethnography enables the examination of everyday social practices in the workplace, the approach was adopted to examine how nurses fared through social relations with their colleagues within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). As this was an ethnography attending to sensitive issues such as unequal distribution of resources in the workplace, the data collection process could pose challenges. This paper will reflect on the challenges experienced in undertaking an ethnography of the social relations of work in an Australian NICU.

Goals and Methods Ethnographic data collection involves fieldwork, the processes of gaining access to the research setting and conducting observations and interviews with the participants. This paper aims to critically reflect on research practices of ethnography including challenges in accessing the research setting and gathering ethnographic data.

Results The fieldwork involved how the researcher entered the field and the everyday world of nurses. Although this study was considered a Low and Negligible Risk (LNR) research, negotiating the access and ethics process was full of hitches and hindrances. The ‘Ladders’ would take the researcher up in the process and the ‘Snakes’ on the top would swallow the turn, resulting in refusal of access. What was important for an ethnographer, however, was to counter the game by managing social relations of the field while maintaining the aims and objectives of the research. This process was not only challenging to the researcher’s understanding of how the NICU operated but also confronting, due to her immigrant and ‘outsider’ status.

Conclusions This paper focuses on the challenges of access trajectory, data collection and analysis, which concerned the fieldworker’s ability to handle the social relations in the field. Since gaining access to the field was interlinked with the ethics process, it demanded both a temporal and spatial toll on the researcher’s mentality.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Research exploring mothers’ experiences with providing care for their chronically ill child is growing. This includes studies exploring mothers’ experiences with children with epilepsy, diabetes, and asthma, to name a few chronic illnesses. Frequently, mothers are the parent who accompanies the child to the Emergency Department (ED) when the child experiences an exacerbation of their condition. A limited number of studies could be located exploring mothers’ experiences in the ED, with minimal details provided on mothers’ interactions with nurses and other members of the interprofessional team and how these interactions affect the care provided to their child. How does this interaction change when mothers hold the dual role of being nurses professionally? No study could be located exploring the experiences of nurse-mothers in the ED on their interactions with ED nurses. This is problematic as nurse-mothers present a unique ED population with their advanced knowledge, judgement, and skills in healthcare delivery. Goals/Methods: The purpose of this project was to examine reflections of four nurse-mothers who sought ED treatment for their chronically ill child. Narrative Inquiry with a focus on self-study was utilized. Participants were asked to undergo a self-reflection process directed by a question guide informed by the literature and theoretical study lens of Social Identity Theory and Critical Feminist Theory. Using aspects of the Narrative Reflective Process, each participant documented their experience during self-reflection data collection process through creative writing, metaphor selection, and drawing. The analysis occurred through the three levels of analysis to address the three kinds of justification: the personal, the practical and the social. Conclusions: The study explored concepts through participants’ lived experiences, that will benefit nurses, other healthcare providers, and nurses who are mothers as it provided a comprehensive understanding of internal conflict and role clarity of the nurse-mother role. A limitation includes, since this study asked participants to recall past experiences surrounding an unpleasant situation, that some human memories are subject to change over time. However, this evolving understanding gives meaning to events and expresses the perspective of the participant.

ABSTRACT. This research employs mixed methods, that is a qualitative research design, critical autoethnography, and art-based presentation. Firstly, Primary Data (PD) collected from 10 semi-structured interviews in the field of education --teaching and learning piano, has been analysed with Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). Then, Secondary Data (SD) was used – that is researcher/interviewer's narratives, result of their own participatory reflexive practice positioning in the research. Another set of SD was also added – that is, video analysis utilising available free footage uploaded on the Internet by other researchers, interviewers, practitioners, prior to the current study, in the topic. Moreover, for triangulation purposes, all SD information obtained was matched against PD analysis/results obtained from the interviews with the 10 internationally established piano teachers. The key themes, sub-themes and codes that have been found from re-mapping the findings, have then become a new lens to organise the literature review of the current study, and writing the body of the thesis. Results present: 1. The role of experiential learning in classical piano pedagogy – optionally branching out to (self) teaching improvisation, jazz, music composition; 2. The role of embodiment in the 21s century piano pedagogy from a human perspective - somatic, artistic; and beyond; 3. Redefining the concept of what it means to be “human” in the 21st century piano pedagogy, now  equating to a “human plus machine” dimension; 4. Between solitude and collaboration --an  array of issues contributing to the success of the 21st century piano lesson; the special contribution of the “ineffable”. In conclusion, redefinition of prior-centuries- piano-pedagogy applies to current piano pedagogy, due to the parallel societal, technological, self-actualizing human and more-than-human, changes. The qualitative research and critical autoethnography methodologies employed were augmented by a rich art-based presentation embodying the study.

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the normal life and routine of all individuals. Adolescents (10-19 years) are at low risk for hospitalization and death from COVID‐19. However, evidence suggests that the disease affected other aspects of their physical, mental and social health. One major aspect of adolescents' lives that is being disrupted by COVID-19 is their access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. In many places, health facilities have closed or have limited the available services. In addition, adolescents may be unable to visit health facilities because of movement restrictions or because of fears of COVID-19 exposure. To the best of our knowledge, no research investigated the impact of the pandemic and related public health measures on adolescents' access to SRH services in Alberta. To address this gap, we are exploring the perspectives of adolescents and service providers on how the pandemic has influenced the SRH of adolescents; and we will develop an adolescent-specific SRH information website that will help the adolescents to navigate the SRH services, programs, and supports during and after the pandemic. We actively engaged adolescents (15-19 years) as an Adolescent Advisory Group (AAG) and mentor them to contribute to the research project. With guidance from our project collaborator and the AAG, we recruited and completed 18 individual interviews with adolescents and 12 individual interviews with service providers in Alberta. The analysis is in progress. The findings from the qualitative interviews will be used in the website development. AAG members will also participate in the co-design of the adolescents-specific SRH website. This research will provide essential information to inform current and future adolescent SRH services, and programming, with special reference to the impact of COVID-19.

ABSTRACT. Besides providing the consulted publication’s findings, the literature review can offer information through metadata. Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) can provide support in visualising bibliometric metadata through RIS files. The usefulness is to provide an interactive image of the reality and actuality of scientific production. This article presents a case study to exemplify how metadata can be analysed and visualised using CAQDAS. The topic for the case study is the gender gap in STEM studies in higher education. The study aims to identify the value and usefulness of data visualisation in the representation of bibliometric data to support literature review processes. The research questions addressed by the study are: (1) What does CAQDAS contribute to the results obtained?; (2) What are the possible causes of the gender gap? Firstly, a systematic review of the literature was carried out using impact databases such as Web of Science and Scopus, using equations of terms linked to the phenomenon of the study. Once the final results were reached, the metadata was downloaded in RIS format. The file was embedded in webQDA, and dynamic visual outputs and matrices were constructed using this software. The information provided by these representations report data on the increasing flow of research in the field of study over the years, as well as which authors publish the most in the field, under which key terms, and in which type of publications. In terms of the content obtained and analysed from these publications, it can be concluded that the cultural, social, educational, family, and peer group environment generates positive and negative force fields when deciding which studies to pursue; some people follow the patterns expected of them according to their gender. Finally, data visualisation helps understand the scientific evolution of a phenomenon and supports the research on a particular topic.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Enabling disease self-management via relevant education is part of high-quality care to improve health outcomes and minimize complications for individuals living with diabetes. Successful diabetes self-management education (DSME) programs usually require tailoring for the intended audience; however, there is limited literature about the preferences of older persons in western countries in regard to DSME. As such, a broad overview of DSME for older persons was an identified need.

Objective: To map evidence about DSME programs for older persons in western countries.

Methods: The JBI methodology for conducting and reporting scoping reviews was used. Systematic keyword and subject heading searches were conducted in 10 databases (e.g., MEDLINE, JBI EBP) to identify relevant English language papers published 2000 to 2022. Titles and abstracts were screened to select eligible papers for full-text reading. Full-text screening was done by four independent reviewers to select studies for the final analysis.

Results: The review identified 2,385 studies and 1,144 were excluded. 1,241full-text studies were assessed for eligibility, and another 1,199 were excluded (e.g., participants were not 65+ years). Forty-two reports were included in the final review. Intervention/educational approaches included: empowerment (n=5); quality improvement (n=3); and structured diabetes programs (n=21). Typically, the studies were designed and delivered by interdisciplinary teams, with few studies (n=2) integrating the voices/experiences of older persons. Overall, most interventions were effective and led to improvements in HbA1C levels, eating behaviours, and physical activity.

Conclusion: Many of the programs led to improvements in clinical outcomes and participants’ quality of life; however, few studies included the voices of older persons in the design, implementation, and evaluation of DSME programs. Such experiential knowledge is vital in the development of educational programs to ensure alignment with preferred learning styles, literacy levels, culture and needs of this population — such an approach could manifest more substantive, sustained results.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Bachelor of Nursing (BN) programs offer varied routes for learners with previous experience. BN students with previous nursing experience such as Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) have the advantage of scaffolding from past practice but also have unique challenges. The literature has identified that preceptorship is important to nursing students’ transition to the professional nurse, however, little is known about how successful transition happens and what measures determine successful transition.

Goals and Methods: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what constitutes a successful transition from LPN to BN graduate from the perspectives of the nursing students and preceptors. A pilot study was initially carried out of a two-phase, mixed methods design. The first phase included an electronic survey with closed and open-ended questions. The second phase included qualitative semi-structured interviews. Data were gathered from survey results, coded, and thematically analyzed. Findings from the survey were used to refine the interview guide. Interview data results were coded and thematically analyzed.

Results: Pilot results reveal transitional experiences and processes varied. Major themes of successful transition included developing leadership skills, increased confidence, and deeper critical thinking. Pilot results were used to inform and revise the research design for larger scale research stages. Dissemination of study results will be through an open education resource (OER) to share teaching and learning strategies for preceptors.

Conclusions: Empirical data on preceptorship and successful nursing student transition to competent nurse is sparse and most of the studies done have been qualitative focused with small samples from traditional nursing programs. The current study aims to provide the perspectives of students and preceptors from the unique LPN to BN cohort about what constitutes successful transition.

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ABSTRACT. Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic affected populations’ socioeconomic and health conditions asymmetrically. Particularly vulnerable populations included those more likely to experience financial and material deprivation, facing difficulties in access to health services and at increased risk of social exclusion, as some migrants. There is still lack of knowledge on the pandemic impact on these populations’ everyday life. Qualitative participatory research approaches, such as Photovoice, are promising to help gather the perspectives of communities and simultaneously promote awareness and engage them in social change for health.

Goals and Methods: This study aims to discuss a fully virtual approach of Photovoice, as a participatory research method, for deepen understanding of migrants' perceptions and experiences of the impacts of the pandemic on their health and well-being. A convenience sample of 12 migrants were recruited through community-based organizations providing services for migrant communities in Portugal. Participants were asked to take photographs reflecting their experiences with the pandemic and to participate in online individual interviews and group discussions.

Results: Photovoice elicited the experiences and perspectives of pandemic impact on migrants living, health and healthcare access. Results illustrate participant’s experiences in health services utilization, mental health and everyday life during the pandemic, performance of social roles, social use of the living spaces, social use of time, and perception of health as a collective goal.

Conclusions: The findings showed a major impact of the pandemic on mental health, with feelings of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and social isolation being depicted. This virtual Photovoice approach proved to be feasible and useful to reach and gather the perspectives of understudied communities experiencing socioeconomic hardship in particularly difficult times. The digital format allowed to overcome some barriers inherent to traditional qualitative research by offering greater flexibility in time and location. Challenges in implementing a novel approach during the pandemic are also acknowledged.

ABSTRACT. In complex adaptive systems such as healthcare, observational research illuminates the dynamic nature of delivering care. The challenge to observations is that they are time consuming and resource intensive. To overcome these barriers, researchers may resort to one observer and one analyst, who might even be the same individual, risking limited findings. However when paired with collaborative analysis, observational data highlight practice nuances when analyzed collectively. Simply by including various health professionals, researchers, and patients in the analysis team, a variety of perspectives and experiences optimize results. Collaborating in qualitative data analysis increases the trustability and reflexivity of a studies' findings. There are some guidelines in traditional ethnography that describe a collaborative process, however they have not yet been catered to healthcare research.

Collaborative analysis was utilized in an observational study in primary care. Based on traditional qualitative literature, a step-by-step approach was modified for a team of healthcare researchers, specifically those unfamiliar to qualitative data analysis methods. This conceptual paper describes the characteristics of this approach for healthcare research, including: 1) choosing stakeholders, 2) creating a shared baseline understanding, 3) reviewing coding techniques for consistency, 4) keeping data records, and 5) co-creating codes. Using de-identified data, examples are provided of the process and includes notes from researcher perspectives within a healthcare context.

ABSTRACT. In addition to formal education, health professionals engage in continual dialogue with peers and mentors as a method of learning. For instance, a resident will work alongside a senior staff member, not only learning how medicine is practiced but also learning about the nuances of the particular practice area. Another example is how a provider might ask a colleague to confirm treatment options or talk about new guidelines. As an effective educational method, corridor teaching allows for informal, two-way conversations to ask questions and converse about relevant topics in the midst of practice, resulting in a rich learning experience. There is a strong history of conversational teaching methods in the health sciences, and these conversations form the cornerstone of health professionals practice.

Even though conversations shape care practices, these types of knowledge exchanges are not reflected as trusted sources of data in research. Although rich knowledge is passed from one person to another, often to contextualize and apply what is learned ‘in the real world’, researchers have to pass through formalities which result in conversational techniques that take away from the natural context. We know that healthcare research relies on the knowledge and experiences of providers and patients, yet in order to obtain this information, qualitative approaches often fall to sterile techniques such as questionnaires, focus groups, or interviews.

As traditional methods of qualitative research approaches are being adapted, and there is recognition for improvements needed in the time it takes to conduct qualitative research, including utilizing new technologies that can enhance informal conversations. Being a rapid data collection method, informal conversations should be used to enhance and refine the understanding of provider and patient perspectives in health care research. This paper aims to describe the benefits of using informal conversations in health care research and describe possible strategies.

ABSTRACT. The field of ecoacoustics offers many opportunities for theoretical and practical research. However, little is known about the transformation and occupation of ecosystem habitat over time in different biomes. The objective of this study is to develop an acoustic index to identify soundscapes in different ecosystems to understand biodiversity in the southern Amazon rainforest. This study is based on the theories of Ecoacoustics that aims to investigate changes in ecosystems, and seeks to answer the following question: how are ecosystems altered, through sound, in the South of the Amazon Rainforest where different species of fauna, flora and indigenous peoples interact in restricted habitats? This empirical investigation through a case study will be developed in the natural environment. Based on sampling points in the northern position of the Rio Madeira Rondônia, Brazil, including sites impacted by logging, electronic devices will be installed in the treetops to collect sounds, send them to cloud storage and further develop semi-automatic identification models for every sound found. This qualitative research uses a machine learning-based approach to understanding the ecosystem. Triangulating data between literature review, forest observation and field notes will ensure the reliability of the findings. This is an ongoing study, and the expected results may indicate whether the ecosystem will remain or change. Habitat detection can also help identify changes in biodiversity, such as species that are more vulnerable to environmental climate change. This research highlights both methodological and managerial contributions. The first by indicating the importance of a qualitative approach associated with data science as a research method capable of offering relevant knowledge advances in complex fields of study, and the second by providing information and data directly from the ecosystem that includes the possibility of conserving the ecosystem. in ecological regions integrating nature and public policies.

ABSTRACT. As a response to the need to care for patients during the pandemic, innovative and creative changes in care delivery was a wide-spread response to social distancing measures. The extensive use of virtual care calls for an exploration of perspectives of its' effectiveness from stakeholder perspectives. Although virtual care existed prior to the pandemic, the pandemic stimulated a “cultural shift” to launch its' widespread use.

Both health providers and patients faced challenges and adapted to these changes. From the health providers perspective, new strategies were used to communicate across the team and connect with patients. Patients also experienced changes to health care delivery including being asked to self-regulate, self-isolate, and become more discretionary about their health choices due to virus containment measures. Patients became more autonomous in their health-related decision-making including finding trustworthy health information, utilizing screening tools, and determining the necessity of seeing a provider or managing symptoms at home. Patients became more engaged in the prevention, management, and screening of their own health, shifting their role on the health care team.

This qualitative case study uses a quality improvement framework in the context of primary care to explore experiences of patients, providers, and clinic staff. Multiple data collection methods are used including observations, document analysis, and informal conversations to determine sustainable changes. Data is still being collected and analyzed. It is anticipated that the results of this study will highlight what structures, processes, and outcomes have adapted into the new Digital Age.

ABSTRACT. Research on infants who require neonatal intensive care has traditionally been clinically focused. There is also emerging research which examines behavioural, cognitive, or psychological outcomes as a proxy to understand the impact of an infant’s experiences during hospitalisation. There has been little research however, that has explored the experience of the infants themselves at the time they are hospitalised. This study is being conducted in a quaternary NICU and uses a mixed methodological approach to describe an infant’s experience during their hospital admission. The overarching principles of phenomenology with its aim of exploring lived experience guided the choice of methods. Given that infants are unable to verbally communicate, we use a range of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to get as close to the infant’s experience and “voice” as possible. Each infant, their parents, and the clinicians involved form an individual “case study”. Recognising that “voice” and in particular an infant’s “voice” in the NICU setting, is constructed and relational, we use multi-faceted data collection methods to get as close as possible to representing an infant’s experience. These methods include infant observation, utilising a developmentally supportive tool to showcase each infant’s unique behaviours and communications, and measurement of infant sleep and sound and light levels. This data is combined with the caregiver’s perspective about what the infant was feeling and experiencing through semi-structured interviews. Researching the experience of an infant in the NICU setting represents innovative qualitative research which requires critical and purposeful engagement with methodologies exploring experience and interpretation of experience. Through this research, we hope to contribute to and enrich neonatal literature by describing multiple aspects of the infant’s experience at the time they are in NICU. This will inform and complement strategies to improve the hospital experience and long-term health of this vulnerable patient group.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic placed challenges on newly graduated nurses entering professional practice. Transition shock characterizes the hardships, confusion, and doubt felt by nurses during their first months of practice. Self-efficacy is believing in one’s abilities to succeed despite overcoming challenges. Understanding the influence the pandemic had on transition shock for new graduates and identifying if self-efficacy helps decrease its effects will aid nursing retention and preparedness. Goals and Methods: To explore the influence of the pandemic on the transition to practice for newly graduated nurses, and to identify if self-efficacy helps minimize their transition shock, as lack of successful transition leads to increase nursing attrition rates and burnout. A qualitative evidence synthesis was used to gain a deeper understanding of the experience felt by new graduates. Qualitative research has the ability to provide meaning to individuals’ experiences by exploring and understanding those said experiences, which are usually lesser perceived through the naked eye. Results: Twelve articles were reviewed and provided evidence that new graduate nurses did not have an adequate adjustment period while transitioning to practice because of the effects of the pandemic. This negatively influenced their transition shock period leading to lack of stability, consistency, predictability, and familiarity as they entered professional practice. Lack of research regarding the relationship between self-efficacy and transition shock was noted. Conclusions: Nurse educators and administrators can devise ways to support and prepare newly graduated nurses for their transition shock period. The next generation of nurses are reported to have reduced self-efficacy levels compared to previous generations, which argues the need to further investigate if a link exits between self-efficacy skills and the transition shock period.

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ABSTRACT. For immigrant female adolescents, the silence around issues of sexuality needs can affect their physical, emotional, and sexual health and overall well-being. Evidence suggests that immigrant adolescents lack sexual and reproductive health knowledge and use fewer sexual health-related services. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the experience of developing sexuality and its relationship to well-being in middle- to late- female adolescence of Pakistani-descent, living in a large urban area in Canada. Using the interpretive descriptive methodology, a purposive sample of 21 female adolescents who were first- or second-generation Pakistan-descent was obtained. Participants included female adolescents aged from ages 14 to 19 years. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview guide and a timeline. A total of 21 first interviews and 7 follow up interviews were conducted. The narratives and timelines presented in this study tell the story of Pakistani female adolescents, their narratives and the timelines reflect the complexities of female adolescents’ sexuality and how they perceive and attribute meanings to their experiences. The study found that living in a bicultural world can cause significant stress and anxiety among female adolescents, especially when making personal life decisions related to sexuality. Moreover, silences around all aspects of female sexuality negatively affects the capacity for desire and pleasure. In addition, the intersection of gender and patriarchy have created layers of power and oppression in adolescent lives that tightly control their sexuality. The participants’ stories demonstrate the complex interaction of factors that influence female adolescents’ behavior related to sexuality. These findings establish the need for cultural awareness while viewing each girl’s experience in relation to the intersectionality of social spheres such as race, ethnicity, culture, and religion. This study provides implications to policymakers to create youth-friendly policies for immigrant youth to draw attention to the hidden voices of female adolescents.

ABSTRACT. The sexual health needs of female immigrant adolescents in Canada have been largely unmet and have increased in magnitude over the last few years. Evidence suggests that racialized immigrant adolescents lack sexual and reproductive health knowledge and use fewer sexual health-related services and sex education resources than do non-immigrant youth. In Pakistani immigrant adolescents, this difference appears to be associated with socio-cultural and religious practices. This purpose of this study was to describe how first-or-second generation Pakistani-descent female adolescents, living in Canada, describe their perspectives on developing sexuality and well-being. In addition, this paper explicates female adolescents’ perceptions of their needs to support their sexuality while going through the adolescence stage. Using a qualitative interpretive descriptive design, individual interviews were conducted in combination with drawing timelines. A purposive sample of 21 female adolescents who were first- or second-generation Pakistani-descent was obtained. A thematic analysis approach was used for data analysis. Findings suggest that immigrant female adolescents encounter mental health concerns as a result of confusing messages they received from their parents related to sexuality. Also, discrimination, exclusion from sex education classes, and lack of knowledge on sexual health can result in social exclusion, avoidance of health care, and poor mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. The participants’ experiences are potentially influenced by the lack of communication with parents about sexuality and lack of health care providers who can understand and speak to their needs and realities as immigrant individuals. Female adolescents expressed their need to break the silence around the topic of sexuality, to have a non-judgmental and blame-free attitude from adults, and for open, honest, and stigma-free conversations. It is crucial to involve, listen to, and incorporate female adolescents’ voices when planning and implementing interventions to support healthy sexuality among immigrant adolescents.

ABSTRACT. In qualitative research, there is a growing interest in understanding the use of timelines in combination with other qualitative methods. The purpose is to address how the creation of timelines facilitated and informed the process of semi-structured interviews. This study was conducted in a large urban setting in Canada. A purposive sample of 21 female adolescents who were first- or second-generation Pakistan-descent was obtained via purposive sampling. As part of the interview process, the opportunity to create visual timelines was presented to study participants with a brief explanation of the timeline as an instrument to support better understanding the important life events and experiences of female adolescents during pubertal age. Female adolescents were then shown a few hypothetical sample timelines created by the researcher. The sample timelines were intended to encourage innovative engagement by study participants and to offer them a sense of flexibility in creating their own timelines. Timelines were created in a participatory way in which girls were asked to recount significant events related to their sexuality. We found that the methodological combinations within qualitative research such as semi-structured interviews and timelines have the potential to advance knowledge regarding the experience of immigrant female adolescents’ sexuality. Using the timeline strategy to collect data helped in building rapport with the participants, allowed the participants to become active partners and navigate the process, and helped them to think about future resolutions through reflection.

ABSTRACT. Parents play an important role in promoting the sexual health of their children. However, many parents experience several challenges. Studies have found that parents can be reluctant to engage with children and adolescents in conversations related to comprehensive sexuality education. To better understand why, we will do the scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature to identify challenges face by parents in providing comprehensive sexuality education to children and adolescents. This review will be designed using Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework and conducted in adherence to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) statement (Tricco et al., 2018). A systematic literature search will be conducted by an experienced health sciences librarian to identify all relevant published studies. Searches will be performed in the following databases: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, HealthSTAR, Sociological Abstracts via ProQuest, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) via EBSCOhost, Scopus via Elsevier and the Cochrane Library via Wiley. We will do the two stage screening using Covidence, a Web-based tool that helps to identify studies and involves data-extraction processes. The methodological quality of included studies will be assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Descriptive (narrative) analysis will be completed to identify common themes for barriers, fears, and challenges face by parents in providing comprehensive sexuality education to children and adolescents. It is hoped that our review will generate knowledge that would help other institutions to understand ways to support and strengthen parents’ contributions to the sexual development of their children. We also hope to develop tools for parents that can support them to identify age appropriate sexual education for their children and strengthen their sexual communication skills and knowledge of contemporary sexual health issues.

ABSTRACT. The youth is considered as a key clientele in ensuring agricultural sustainability and transformation. The Philippines, as an agricultural country, is facing the problem of weak engagement among the youth toward agriculture as they tend to migrate to non-agricultural courses and careers. As such, this qualitative research intended to determine the agricultural experiences of the youth from Pampanga State Agricultural University which are enrolled in the Senior High School Technical Vocational Livelihood Track: Agri-Fishery Arts strand. It also aimed to surface the meanings the participants attribute to agriculture as shaped by their experiences.

To attain the objectives of the study, phenomenological approach was employed in order to describe and interpret the lived experiences of the youth on agriculture. Eleven students: four males, seven females served as participants in this research. As such, focus group discussion, card visualization, member checking and peer debriefing were used to gather and ensure validity and reliability of data. Data were analyzed using coding sheets and thematic analysis.

Results show that the experiences of the participants on agriculture enable them to have individual understandings on the meaning of agriculture. As such, the participants have practical and communicative experiences in agriculture. They have hands-on experience on crop production processes and livestock management. Meanwhile, their interactions in the school, families, friends and media which focused on agriculture served as their communicative experience. Furthermore, agriculture is seen in several realities: source of fulfillment, a stressful and hazardous field of expertise, and a means to contribute to national development. Ultimately, participants' constructed meanings on agriculture have also served as foundations for their actions regarding agriculture. As such, it is notable that sufficient support be given to various agricultural programs which aim to promote and involve the youth in agriculture.

ABSTRACT. Access to mainstream education by the indigenous peoples can result in their social and economic empowerment. However, the assimilation of the indigenous students to mainstream education has been a recent phenomenon in the Philippines.  Discrimination persists as one of the disturbing experiences of the indigenous students inside the school.  It is one of the leading causes of school dropouts among IP students and a barrier to pursuing higher education.

This qualitative research was designed to explore the meaning of racism in education among the Aeta (indigenous) students of a state university in the Philippines. Specifically, this study surfaced the participants’ definition on racism in education, their experiences as well as their coping mechanisms in dealing with racism.

To attain the objectives, the ethno-methodological approach was employed. Two racially genuine Aeta undergraduates in PSAU who live in Bamban, Tarlac served as participants of this study who are purposively and conveniently selected. As such, this research employed participant and non-participant observation, in-depth interviewing, storytelling, and house visit for data collection. For data analysis, thematic analysis, field notes, and peer debriefing were used.

Results show that racism in education is defined as a social problem, an act of bullying, and a motivation among Aeta students in their academic journey and achievement. Hereto, the participants experienced racism in education illustrated in the form of verbal, physical, and psychological/emotional abuse from non-indigenous individuals. These experiences present that the participants have experienced the three conceptual levels of racism which were intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional racism. To survive racism, participants employed approach and avoidant coping mechanisms. These were through communications with family members and teachers, physical resistance and indifference to perpetrators.

To eradicate racism in education, implications for reform efforts for local agencies, educational institutions, indigenous parents and students, teachers as well as non-indigenous students are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Child abuse is one of the phenomenal engraving problems worldwide. It is distinguished as when parents or guardian maltreats a child by harming their physical body or emotional area through verbal harassment, taking advantage of their innocence, sexually harassing, or exploiting the child. These are identified as physical, emotional, verbal, sexual abuse, and neglect. In the context of parenting, the difference between child discipline and child abuse is uncertain causing the parents to commit further violence to children. In the Philippines, it was discovered that most of the perpetrator’s act of violence was just the outcomes of their past experiences of abuse.

Thus, this qualitative research aimed to identify the meaning of child abuse among the parent-perpetrators as shaped by social interactions, through the lens of Symbolic Interactionism in the Philippines. The phenomenological approach was utilized in a homogenous sample of three convicted parent-perpetrators in Angeles City. To gather data, in-depth interviewing permitted and assisted by the representatives from the local government were employed which was analyzed through thematic analysis. Results of this research indicated that the social interactions of parents relevant to child abuse were their family members, fellow citizens, media- television and social media, as well as social workers.

In this sense, interaction with the family established disciplinary actions as not a form of child abuse. This notion was reaffirmed by their observations towards the actions of their fellow citizens (neighbors). Meanwhile, exposure to media established the concept of child abuse as maltreatment to children. On the other hand, child abuse is viewed as a crime and a grave mistake as the participants were educated by the social workers. With these, to lessen the numbers of abused children and eradicate the issue of child abuse, suggestions for agencies, families, academe, fellow citizens, media, and social workers are forwarded.

ABSTRACT. This qualitative research aimed to determine how communication defined the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) adaptation of Aetas from a local community in the Philippines. Specifically, this study identified the social interactions relevant to Aetas’ ICT adaptation, the meaning of ICT utilization for Aetas and how these social interactions shaped the meaning of ICT adaptation of Aetas.

To attain the objectives, the phenomenological approach was employed. Through convenient and snow-ball sampling, four Aetas born and raised in Sitio Target Sapang Bato who also utilizes ICT tools served as participants of this study. In-depth interviewing was used for data collection. For data analysis, thematic analysis was employed.

Results of this research showed that the social interactions of Aetas relevant to their ICT adaptation were their family members, people from the academe, missionaries and non-natives. Moreover, based from the narrations of the participants, ICT utilization is deemed as a means for efficient communication, a coping mechanism, a valuable tool in education and a restricted behavior. Thus, through the lens of symbolic interactionism, these meanings were shaped by the interactions of the participants with the significant others aforementioned.

As such, to promote proper utilization of ICT among the indigenous people, suggestions for local agencies, family members, teachers, classmates, missionaries and non-natives are forwarded.

ABSTRACT. The participation of people with disabilities in society has been gaining new spaces and advances in recent decades. There are few investigations in the specific field associated with the study of ableism directed at people with disabilities. Given the need to understand the concepts of ableism in contemporary times, it is necessary to contemplate the findings on the subject in question, thus, the objective of this article is to identify how the concept of ableism has been described in contemporary literature. As the method used, a qualitative, descriptive and bibliographic research was carried out, designed as an integrative literature review. This material was developed through access to the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) database, in the year 2022, with articles that have been published preferably in the last decade, based on the following descriptors: ableism, disability and handicap. After the search, a total number of 12 articles was counted, after the inclusion and exclusion analysis, 7 final articles were selected for review. The selected articles were presented together and articulated with aspects related to the concept of ableism. The results found corroborate that the structure of ableism gathers and organizes a set of prejudiced attitudes, camouflaged or not, that bring the purpose of categorizing people, of normalization according to the adequacy of their bodies to a standard of functional capacity. It is concluded that the analyzes that deal with ableism, inclusion and accessibility in the social context are necessary for a prospection of changes and social advances in the context of the insertion and belonging of these subjects in the social sphere, since the results reinforce that ableism increases the processes of social exclusion and people's self-responsibility.

ABSTRACT. Employee morale is a problem in Indian public sector banks. The issues are not addressed in the existing literature. The study had a significant impact on revealing factors that influence middle manager morale. The research aims to study middle managers' morale and the factors that influence it. The questionnaires were created using literature and a pilot study. Phenomenological research design and purposive sampling were used to collect data from 23 respondents on data saturation (CMD, former CMD, General managers, Union directors, and Middle managers) via semi-structured in-depth audio-recorded interviews and field notes. After verbatim transcripts were prepared, ATLAS.ti 22 was used to analyze the data using an inductive approach.

Seven themes emerged from thematic analysis concerning research questions influencing middle manager morale. The code coefficient and groundedness were used to determine the significance of themes. Themes have been discussed, and appropriate suggestions have been made to improve low-middle managers' morale, thereby creating a high-middle managers' morale culture. Themes have practical relevance for policymakers, organizational leaders, and management in rethinking and developing policies to improve middle management morale.